New Brighton Coastal Community Team builds upon current success story
Exciting new plans to establish New Brighton as a year round destination and boost the local economy have been submitted to the government.
The economic plan for New Brighton is aimed at attracting even more day trippers, overnight stays and increasing employment. Plans to improve the resort are part of Wirral’s Growth Plan, which outlines the council’s plan to increase visitor spend to £450m by 2020.
The New Brighton economic plan includes a variety of exciting new initiatives for New Brighton and the vision to attract large scale developments. It includes plans for developing an annual events programme and bringing life back to Marine Lake. The plan also sets out the ambition to attract new hotel accommodation, the potential for a new outdoor gym and the creation of an art trail.
The plans have been drawn up by New Brighton Coastal Community Team, a partnership of local businesses, voluntary and community groups and Wirral Council, who were awarded £10,000 by the government last year to develop a blueprint for the resort.
Brought together by Wirral Council’s Wallasey Constituency Team, New Brighton Coastal Community Team has been working with local residents, businesses and visitors to produce the plan, which has been submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Tony Jones, Chair of New Brighton Coastal Community Team, said: “The collective vision for New Brighton is that it builds upon its strengths to become a year round premier destination, attracting increased day trippers and overnight stays and increasing employment, whilst supporting and responding to the needs of the local community.”
Cllr Pat Hackett, Wirral’s Cabinet Member for Business and Tourism said: “New Brighton is rightly recognised as a regeneration success story, but there is still much potential to be tapped into. This blueprint will help us do that and boost the local economy.
“Through both the new Wirral Growth Plan and the economic plan for New Brighton we want to extend the appeal of the resort to new markets, and regenerate areas with potential for growth to bring further new businesses and jobs. I think by working together positively towards a shared vision to improve New Brighton, we can achieve great things for the local community.”
New Brighton now has a booming visitor economy, now worth £25.5m each year and up by almost £10m from 2009, and attracts over 470,000 day visits annually by people from outside Wirral, up by 60,000 between 2009 and 2014. The plan builds upon the successes of the £1.1m public realm improvements made by Wirral Council and £80m Marine Point development. This regeneration alone is supporting around an extra 500 new jobs. The plan identifies how this could grow even further and extend this success to the rest of the resort, including Seabank Road and Victoria Road.
The Coastal Community Team is off to a running start with early successes, which includes the funding grant from central government to light Perch Rock lighthouse, taking place in March 2016. There is a wealth of experience and expertise within the Coastal Community Team, including UK’s Best Café 2014; Wirral Volunteer Team of the Year 2015 and Wirral Family Friendly Business 2015.
There will be a formal launch of the economic plan in Spring this year to continue to engage the public in the process. A copy of the plan is available at www.wirral.gov.uk/newbrighton. Delivery of the plan will be led by New Brighton Coastal Community Team whose work can be followed on Twitter @wallaseyteam.