Old Cammell Laird yard sold

Reddington Finance, a leisure developer, has completed a multi million pound deal to take control of the A&P Birkenhead site and now owns all 140-acres of the former Cammell Laird yard. The company’s £30m investment in acquiring the land will pave the way for a £1bn redevelopment project which aims to rival Liverpool’s waterfront.

Although Reddington will lease the land back to A&P, the sale will come as a further blow to Wirral’s shipbuilding industry. It follows an independent report commissioned by Wirral council and Wirral Waterfront which revealed there was no future for commercial shipbuilding or repairs on the former Cammell Laird site.

Reddington insist A&P can use the land for as long as they need to, but executives have drawn up alternative proposed uses for the 20-acre area occupied by the ship repair business. Owner Gerry White said: “We now have control of all 140 acres, there is no point doing half a job. We will work alongside A&P for as long as their business is viable whether that be three, four years or longer. We are not pushing the ship repair industry out. The lease will run indefinitely.”

Site director Mike Ryder said: “Any plans to re-develop the area of the current A&P site would focus on ship building and maritime history. We want to have an educational centre there where people can learn about the shipping industry. “There is no getting away from the fact that the industry is in decline and we would concur with the findings of the independent report which showed a continued downturn in ship repairing on the site.

Colin Towl, group business director of A&P, said he was optimistic for the firm’s future on the site. He said: “We are pleased we have been able to do a deal with Reddington. We will carry on repairing ships as long as we can continue to do so. It is very much business as usual for us, with the strength of Reddington’s development beside us.”

But others in the industry fear the move has sounded the death knell for ship repair work on the Cammell Laird site. John Syvret, managing director of North West Ship Repairers said: “The plans are to turn that area into a leisure and retail park which does not fit in with ship repairs. “As far as my business is concerned there is plenty of ship repair work coming into the area that could take place on that site. The industry is not dead.”