Turn to Face the Strange Changes

Urban Shore; acrylic on canvas; Birkenhead Park series; 2023.

Big plans are afoot for Birkenhead. Umpteen billions are to be pumped into the area, old stuff is to be demolished and new stuff is to be build in its place. Some of this has already begun in the town centre, where long-empty shops have been flattened in preparation. Two new glass and steel tower blocks are almost finished. One is for council offices, the other is earmarked as a mixture of apartments, with shops at ground floor level.

Do we need new shop buildings, when so many perfectly good premises have been vacant for years already? Peoples shopping habits have changed now so many of us shop online.

And what's wrong with the old council offices, where not so long ago £20,000 was allegedly spent on new carpet for the stairs?

One aspect of the planned changes to the area which really interests me is the intention to create a large public park stretching down to the River Mersey. Currently this area houses derelict warehouses, an ugly concrete fly-over and long-abandoned industrial units. There is considerable new housing planned, but this still leaves acres of post-industrial grot. This should change dramatically if the proposal to develop a large urban green space goes ahead.

The urban regeneration is a 20-year plan. A lot can happen to funding in that time. But I hope everything goes ahead as the area offers huge potential.

Meanwhile, here's my latest addition to my on-going Birkenhead Park series of paintings and sketches.

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