A West Kirby business owner said he’s lost around £80,000 since the construction of a sea wall started.
The West Kirby sea wall began being built in April 2022 after years of planning and will stretch for 1.15km along South Parade next to the town’s marine lake once it's complete.
Wirral Council said the sea wall will protect 70 properties near the coast from sea level rises and storm damage and is estimated to save more than 20 lives.
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However it has been criticised by some, including local councillor Andrew Gardner for its impact on the town who argues the scheme is not necessary and a waste of money.
Construction was expected to be completed in November 2022 but this was delayed as problems were found with the old Victorian foundations as well as issues with relocating the RNLI.
Since construction began, multiple businesses have reported a drop in footfall in the town as 200 car parking spaces were taken up by the construction.
Guy Lawrenson, who runs the fishmongers Seafood Shack in the town, said he’s lost around 20% of his businesses since the construction began, increasing to a 40% drop in the summer of 2022.
He said: “Local people just stopped shopping in West Kirby and people assumed the lake was shut and that you couldn’t visit and you couldn’t park.
“I have lost just short of £80,000 turnover at the same time as my bills have tripled. It’s a double whammy.”
Current projections have construction of the wall finished by the end of April with an official opening in May. From Easter, it's expected some parts of the wall will be fully complete allowing for parking spaces to be opened up.
Costs for the wall have also gone up with councillors expected to approve another £4.4m next week from the Environment Agency bringing the total cost of the scheme up to nearly £16m.
However only £2.4m of this is directly Wirral Council funds with other money coming from the Environment Agency, Liverpool City Region and the Regional Flood Levy.
The price tag has gone up due to the costs of materials increasing by £1m, £2m because of issues with ground works, £1.1m to improve the design, and half a million to relocate the RNLI according to a Wirral Council report.
Meanwhile, Mr Lawrenson said he’s lost two full time and two part time staff in recent months and stopped serving food outside the shop on Sundays as less people visit the town. He also said five businesses had already closed and nine were up for sale.
He added: “We didn’t really appreciate it, I didn’t think it would be as severe as it was but it just shows how many people visit West Kirby and people use their cars.”
Cllr Liz Grey, chair of Wirral Council’s committee said it was hard to know what was causing a drop in footfall but added: “There is no denying that the construction has had a significant impact on the area but this is temporary.”
She said other factors such as the cost of living could be playing a role but council projections suggested visitor numbers to the town will increase in the future once the wall is finished.
In December and January, Wirral Council ran a campaign to encourage more people to visit the town and shop local over Christmas over fears a number of businesses could shut. Hannah Cleator, who manages a bistro opposite the construction, said she’d seen a drop of 80% in customers last summer.
Mr Lawrenson said he’s seen no uptick since the campaign but he remains optimistic once the wall is complete, the town will see a bounce back.
However he has doubts the scheme will be finished by the current deadline, adding: “There’s more chance President Putin will pull out of Ukraine than that happens. It will be the end of June if you’re lucky”
Recently, Cllr Andrew Gardner criticised the scheme. He said: "Traders have been brought to their knees and some of them have closed while the construction has doubled," adding: "Businesses are all saying the wall was the final nail for them."
He said while wider issues like the cost of living were playing a part, West Kirby was facing more challenges because of the sea wall.
Cllr Grey, who has backed the sea wall being built, said: “I have every sympathy with any business struggling with reduced footfall. This must be very stressful and many local businesses have been hit by a number of different factors in recent years, from Brexit to Covid to the cost of living crisis.
“It would be hard for anyone to know for sure what might be causing reduced footfall for any particular business and analysis would need to be made of their accounts in the years prior to the construction of the wall and compared with other similar businesses elsewhere in similar locations, otherwise we might conflate issues.
“There is no denying that the construction has had a significant impact on the area but this is temporary and the contractors have managed it as sensitively as possible. The alternative would be to leave West Kirby exposed to what we know will be increasingly frequent and increasingly violent storms. The damage from such storms is not just a risk to life, but a risk to property and local business.
“Once the wall is complete it will be important to celebrate West Kirby and local businesses and residents can be a part of that. If Council predictions that the wall itself will attract visitors and increased footfall are correct, then this will help alleviate any unavoidable stress caused by the construction.”
Wirral Council were approached for comment.
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