New Birkenhead Market moves forward as construction plans take shape

The development of the new Birkenhead Market has reached a major milestone, with Wirral Council appointing a contractor to move the project forward towards the construction phase.

Following a competitive bidding process, Seddon Construction has been selected to carry out pre-construction services on the Birkenhead Market at 1 Princes Pavement, located next to Birkenhead Bus Station.

This is a crucial step in delivering a new, modern Market Hall that will play a key role in the regeneration of Birkenhead town centre.

Four experienced contractors had bid for the work and following evaluation by the project team and advisors Seddon Construction was found to be the preferred tenderer.

New Birkenhead Market. Credit: Wirral Council — Credit: Wirral Council

Leader of Wirral Council, Cllr Paul Stuart, said:

“Progress on the new Market is an important part of our wider plans for Birkenhead so it’s great to see this continuing to move forward. We are committed to delivering a vibrant and popular new Birkenhead Market and this is part of a massive investment in the town and its central shopping area.

“Our intention is to ensure Birkenhead is a destination people want to visit as part of attracting the inward investment which will bring high-quality jobs for our residents, give extra stimulus to the local economy, boost business opportunities, and through all this foster economic growth. In this way we can make Wirral an even better place where people want to live, work and raise their families.”

The “soft strip” demolition of the unit at Princes Pavement was completed late last year, opening the way for the fit-out work starting for the new market.

This had followed engagement with community and traders on proposals for the market including presenting detailed design images showing how the new revitalised Birkenhead Market could look, including potential layout for traders’ stalls.

This latest contract is to finalise the design of the new Birkenhead Market and inform a fixed price for the next construction phase, at a contract price of £188,487.31 with a contingency of £50,000 built in to cover any additional surveys that are identified as a requirement for design development.

The target delivery programme indicates a practical completion date for the main base build works of March 2026.