This report seeks approval to fund additional resourcing requirements that have been identified following a comprehensive review of regeneration projects and processes. The requirements are for a mix of internal fixed-term roles and externally procured disciplines over a period of 2 years.

Funding has been identified from Wirral Growth Company profits and where possible, capitalisation of costs. The Regeneration Programme is a core part of the Council Plan supporting Brownfield First and the Local Plan. The Council has been successful in securing over £150 million of funding for the regeneration of the borough. As a result, there is a need to prioritise delivery of numerous projects by March 2026 which requires additional skills and capacity.

The Birkenhead 2040 Framework details a comprehensive regeneration vision that will deliver 21,000 new homes and 6,000 new jobs in Birkenhead over the next 20 years and will transform Birkenhead and parts of Wallasey and New Ferry, building on Government funding support secured over the past 3 years to support infrastructure improvements and town centre intervention, creating new neighbourhoods, and driving economic growth.

A Framework of this scale and the emerging Masterplans requires a joined-up approach to a number of regeneration-based activities. As the Council moves into delivery it is imperative to have the appropriate resources in place to deliver this programme of work to March 2026, and beyond. By shifting to an Intelligent Client model (which refers to the capability and capacity to translate policy to outcomes), existing teams need to be strengthened and technical design teams, need to be procured where appropriate, to support the Council’s vision and delivery programme.

The Council Plan 2023-2027 has been developed and the recommendations within this report support the delivery of the following themes: People focused regeneration. The recommendations in this report focus on the Birkenhead 2040 Framework. This means that this matter more immediately affects Birkenhead and Birkenhead & Tranmere, Bidston & St James, Seacombe and Liscard Wards, but in the longer term may potentially impact on other wards in the Borough

Resolved – that

1. the Director of Finance be authorised to allocate Council reserves arising from Wirral Growth Company profits and/or Capitalisation totalling £2.7m for the use of additional Regeneration Delivery resources to March 2026.

2. the use and impact of the newly allocated additional resources (up to £2.7m) will be overseen by the Economy, Regeneration and Housing Committee.

The Council has received profits from Wirral Growth Company of £8.455m in 2022/2023 and expected profits of c£3m in 2023/2024. It is proposed that a proportion of these profits, up to £2.7m, will be used to fund a multidisciplinary team to drive delivery of priority regeneration projects up to March 2026.

In recent years, the Council has been successful in securing over £150 million of funding for the regeneration of the borough. This includes £70 million of DLUHC Simplification Pathfinder Pilot funding which is time limited to March 2026. This will support the Council by enabling access to significant funding to support the regeneration of Birkenhead including that of private sector investment.

To deliver on this programme of work, and in accordance with the Council’s strategies, it is prudent to look at different ways of resourcing to ensure relevant skills are wrapped around projects and existing staff.

This proposed resourcing model aligns to the Council’s regeneration project prioritisation in shifting the way that the Council works as an Intelligent Client by setting a vision to the use of its supply chain and investing in a skilled and agile in-house workforce.

Other options have been considered and have been discounted. Specifically, if the Council adopts a “do nothing” approach, then the risks are that the Council may not;

a) be able to deploy grant funding within the spend profile timetable, risking potential clawback;

b) be able to deliver proposals across the priority project areas;

c) deliver on future projects past March 2026 that are currently in pipeline; and d) have the right skills to deliver confidence to key stakeholders.

The mitigation for the above risks will likely result in key strategic and pipeline projects being paused or indefinitely postponed whilst staff are re-allocated to priority projects. This could risk delivery on projects post March 2026.