Railway line to be bought for £15m park plan

A council that is looking to create a park on an old railway may have to buy the line in sections to avoid taking on an extra financial burden.

Wirral Council said if it bought the Dock Branch rail line through Birkenhead in its entirety, it might end up financially responsible for the bridges that cross it.

The council plans to create the £15m park along the line, which was last used in the 1980s.

The decision to buy the line in two sections could cost more in the long run but could avoid taking on liability for the bridges, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reports.

A bid for £14.9m of funding has been submitted by the council to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and a decision is expected this month.

The council said it is proposing to buy the southern section of the line to allow the Hind Street Urban Village project to progress, even though the original plan was to buy the northern section of the line first.

The Hind Street project was recently awarded £51m of government funding towards 1,500 homes to be built over 15 years.