“We're just happy to survive to be honest,” says Craig Diamond, closing down for the day after the lunchtime rush.
Craig works at ‘As U Like It’ sandwich bar on Poulton Road, a staple of Seacombe’s high street for the last 16 years. The area used to be thriving with every shop open, according to Craig’s colleague, but today it reflects more of a “ghost town”.
The amount of shuttered shops where Borough Road and Poulton Road meet is just one signifier that this is one of the most deprived areas in Wirral and the wider city region. In recent years money has gone into neighbouring New Brighton and Birkenhead, but there is a feeling from some locals that Seacombe has been squeezed out by nearby regeneration efforts.
READ MORE: Look inside Eureka! Science and Discovery Centre as it opens to the public
These days there’s hope that the tide is now changing. Last month a major refurbishment of the town’s historic ferry terminal was completed with funding from the Combined Authority, works that saw the 130-year-old link span bridges replaced.
The refurbishment isn’t the only lick of paint to be added to the area. In the adjoining building, nearly £12m pounds, £6.8m of which was provided in large part by the Liverpool City Region, has been invested in the brand new Eureka! Science and Discovery museum.
The museum opened its doors for the first time last week and hopes to be the long term replacement of the former Spaceport museum, which closed in 2019 after seeing its visitor numbers drop by the thousands. According to Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, Eureka! is “a really exciting addition to our already thriving visitor economy.”
Mayor Rotheram added: "[Our visitor economy is] attracting thousands of visitors and tourists to Wirral’s waterfront every year and creating secure, quality jobs. I want Eureka! to act as a catalyst for wider regeneration for the area helping to lay the foundations for success so that other businesses and attractions move in."
'It needs more'
Along Seacombe’s high street, there’s clear interest in the new developments around the terminal, but there remains scepticism over whether it’ll deliver the lift the area needs. “I don’t think it will benefit us”, says Craig when asked if it’ll help drive more footfall into Seacombe’s high street and residential areas.
Along Borough Road, the Liver Building is in clear view as you look toward the ferry terminal. A collection of independent shops line the street, but as Nelson Shardey explains, it isn’t the most fertile ground for new businesses.
The 73-year-old will soon be selling up and ending his 31 stay on the street as the owner of Nelson’s News. He says the area used to be like a village when he first set up his business, but the arrival of competition from a nearby Tesco along with hardship faced by the local community, has drained part of Seacombe of its “character”.
He told the ECHO: “It's only when people have forgotten something they go to the corner shops.
“When the corner shops aren't feeding the community, the community starts dwindling because people don't get close to each other any more.”
The challenges facing the area are reflected next door by Katrina Chapman, owner of Urban Vintage, which specialises in upcycling. The shop started out in Birkenhead two years ago, but Katrina left due to a lack of footfall, instead hoping to make use of more space and affordable rates in Seacombe.
Unfortunately, the shop will be closing after Christmas. Katrina says business has been “awful” but says this has been worsened by rising costs as a result of the cost of living crisis.
She added: “Seacombe isn't quite there yet. It needs more than Eureka! It needs major cash investment in being able to keep people on the high street. There's no point setting people up on the high street if you can't keep them there.”
At the end of Borough Road you reach Seacombe Social Club. Inside the striking building a host of regulars are playing pool or chatting over a pint.
In recent years the pub has become more of a community centre and somewhere that’s helped to tackle the poverty that is felt by many in the local area. The social club’s landlady, who asked to not be named, has helped with summer lunch clubs and events for kids, citing the lack of provision of younger people in the area.
She told the ECHO: ”You could have £100m and it still wouldn't help here. We need more housing and community centres for the kids. We haven't got anything. There's nothing in Wallasey.
“Everybody around here is struggling. They haven't got money for electricity, gas and heating, their clothes, their food. The food is the last thing that they're buying. Seacombe needs help with the fundamentals.”
'Raising the skills and aspirations'
The Eureka! Science and Discovery museum opened its doors for the first time last week and its CEO, Leigh-Anne Stradeski, said it welcomed Over 1000 visitors on the first three days, adding that it received plenty of “positive feedback.”
Speaking about the ambition of the new museum, Leigh-Anne told the ECHO: "We want to drive the regeneration and visitor economy of Seacombe and have a regular visitor flow
"It’s also about raising the skills and aspirations of the local community, raising the aspirations of the children and young people in the area. One of the reasons we were so keen to come to Seacombe is because it isn't Eureka on its own. It's part of extensive regeneration and transformation in east Wirral.”
This view is shared by Wirral Council’s committee member for regeneration, Cllr Tony Jones. When asked about how the project can help one of the most disadvantaged areas of Wirral, he stressed that it should be seen as a “key economic lever”.
He added: “This is not just a one off. It is being done as part of a much wider regeneration ambition for the whole of Wallasey and wider Wirral. It will also help improve the impression people have of the area. It’s not a forgotten place.”
The wider aspiration is going to be shaped, in part, by the Seacombe River Corridor masterplan - which is currently at a public consultation phase asking residents for their views on what issues need to be addressed. Adjoining regeneration in Birkenhead at Wirral Waters is also likely to influence the area.
For local Labour Cllr Paul Stewart, it’s important for local residents to be at the forefront of the change. He told the ECHO: “We don’t want to get a gentrification of the area. There are viewpoints here that people would pay an astronomical amount of money for.
“People say Birkenhead gets all of the investment, but It’s great that we have got investment here. Eureka will be the catalyst for starting work on the Seacombe corridor masterplan.”
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