Plans in for £23m Maritime Knowledge Hub at Wirral Waters

6th June 2022

Peel L&P wants to turn the grade two-listed hydraulic generating station in the Four Bridges quarter of East Float into a centre for maritime education and training.

Ellis Williams is the architect behind the £23m Maritime Knowledge Hub. Credit: via planning documents

Ellis Williams is the architect behind the £23m Maritime Knowledge Hub. Credit: via planning documents

Proposals for the Maritime Knowledge Hub were first announced in 2014. It was the subject of a design competition in 2018, which was won by Danish architect Schmidt Hammer Lassen and Liverpool-based Ellis Williams Architects.

The end product, which is credited to Ellis Williams in planning documents, would retain much of the 1868 hydraulic generating station, which sits on two acres west of Tower Road. It previously supplied power to Birkenhead Docks. The plans would demolish three extensions that were added to the building later.

Under the application submitted by Eden Planning & Development, Peel would work with partners Liverpool John Moores University, Wirral Council and Mersey Maritime to turn the historic structure into the Maritime Knowledge Hub.

The Maritime Knowledge Hub would include offices and workshop areas, a café, an event space and an exhibition area. It would be home to the Maritime Technology Centre and the Marine Simulation and Training Centre, with pontoons available to access the water’s edge and training ships.

While some of the office space proposed would be for start-ups, there is one section that is envisioned as a private office area that would have its own private roof terrace.

The proposals include 62 parking spaces, of which 10 would have access to EV charging points. There would also be two spaces designated for disabled parking and five cycle stands.

Liverpool-based Bcal is the landscape architect for the project. Hydrock is the MEP and sustainability consultant. Curtins is the engineer and Mel Morris Conservation is the heritage consultant. Gleeds is the cost consultant and Project Four is the safety consultant.

The application’s reference number with Wirral Council is APP/22/00937.

6th June 2022