Wirral residents have slammed the prices being charged for the first homes at Wirral Waters.
One person claimed they were an “absolute joke”, while another called the buying prices “outlandish”.
Within months, the first residents will move into some of the first 30 homes at East Float, a joint venture between House by Urban Splash and Peel L&P, on the Birkenhead docklands.
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The homes were manufactured using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) at the House by Urban Splash factory in the East Midlands, before being delivered to Wirral by road.
Over the next 25 years, across several different schemes on the docklands, Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters project will see up to 13,000 homes built.
But many Wirral residents think buyers are being charged too much for their homes.
A post by the ECHO on the Wirral Gossip Original Facebook page saw more than 150 people respond at the time of writing, with the vast majority believing the homes at East Float are overpriced.
There are two types of homes at East Float, Row House homes which start at £210,000 for a two-storey property, and three-storey Town House homes which start at £345,000.
Among the East Float homes currently on the market is a three-bedroom Row House home for £275,000 and a two-bedroom home for £215,000 for instance, and Town House homes featuring between three and five bedrooms priced between £350,000 and £360,000.
It is understood that most of the homes sold so far at East Float have gone to people from Wirral, with the average purchase price being £275,000.
Commenting on the homes at East Float, Alex Griffiths, 45, from Bebington, said: “What the hell are they?
“They look like stacked Portacabins, and for how much. Really… People will pay though as it's becoming a desperate situation.”
Louis Godefroy, 31, from Bidston, questioned the sums being charged, he said: “£200-£300k for some containers cobbled together.”
He added: “[I] used to drive past every day, £200k is an absolute joke of a price.”
Row House homes come in three sizes, a two-bedroom two-storey home, a three-bedroom two-and-a-half storey home with a roof terrace, and the largest, a four-bedroom three-storey home.
The Town House homes are three-storeys and offer open plan options, including up to five bedrooms and home offices, a garden living option featuring a traditional layout with living spaces downstairs, or loft living with bedrooms on the ground floor and open plan living areas upstairs.
Summing up the opinions of many in the group, another person, who also did not give permission to be named, said: “Too expensive and not very nice!”
But not everyone agreed.
Laney Byrne, 50, from Bidston, said: “They are trying to regenerate the area and make it more appealing to businesses which will bring more jobs to the area, can't be a bad thing."
According to Rightmove’s website, properties in Birkenhead had an overall average price of £143,490 over the last year.
The majority of the company’s sales in Birkenhead during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £102,763. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £173,863, with flats fetching £86,109.
These figures cannot be used as a direct comparison, as the houses at Wirral Waters are of a different type to others in the area, but they give an indication as to local property prices.
Expanding the figures to cover the Wirral peninsula as a whole, the average property price was £242,751 over the last year.
The majority of sales on the Wirral during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £220,251.
Terraced properties sold for an average of £150,293, with detached properties fetching £419,313.
Yet these figures take into account areas with far higher average house prices than Birkenhead, such as Heswall and West Kirby.
A spokesperson for House by Urban Splash and Peel L&P said: “East Float is one part of the Northbank area of Wirral Waters, a neighbourhood which will cater for a range of customers with over 1,100 new homes being delivered over the next three years.
“In addition to East Float there is the Wirral Waters One development of 500 new homes, 20% of which are affordable, and are discounted against local Birkenhead rates. Northbank will also offer homes for families, couples and older people at the Wirral Belong Village.”
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The spokesperson added: “Right now, the first of these homes are on the market at East Float, where the House by Urban Splash Town House and Row House homes are starting to take shape.
“Homes here are intended to appeal to a range of customers. Help to Buy is available on selected plots, and there are plans for homes to rent, thus ensuring we are offering a mix within reach of more prospective residents."
“This is a neighbourhood that is rapidly taking shape, and House by Urban Splash and Peel L&P look forward to unveiling more details of future phases as we continue to expand the tenure for the local area.”
