A historic waterfront which fell into 'terrible condition' after years of neglect could rise from the murky depths of the River Mersey thanks to some ambitious plans.
A 100-berth marina, a watersports centre, a public car park, flats, and an access road from the Rock Ferry bypass to Bedford Road East have been proposed by the Rock Ferry Waterfront Trust, as it hopes to transform the site into a go-to leisure destination.
Chairman Cliff Renshaw said: "We want to bring the waterfront back into use. Ideally, we'd like to see the pier opened up, so that people can walk up and down it like any other pier. The slipway would be repairs, because it's a Grade II listed structure, over 200 years old, with a tremdous amount of history."
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The Trust is already in the process of improving the pier, as engineers have been brought in this week to assess the structure and decide whether the legs can be retained and the walkway replaced, or whether the whole pier needs to be demolished.
Cliff said: "There's no doubt that the pier walkway will have to be removed. We don't know yet if the legs will be in a good enough state to remain. We're still waiting to find out how much it will actually cost to demolish it. If money was no issue, then the preferred option would be to replace the walkway and keep the pier. But it all does depend on the cost.
"It's in a terrible condition. The end of the pier collapsed about two years ago as it had become so dilapidated, it just fell into the river."
Ferries have been operating at Rock Ferry since 1709, and at the height of their popularity in the early 1900s they carried more than 1m passengers each year. The current slipway was built by Thomas Morecroft in 1820, making it the oldest structure on the River Mersey.
Regular ferry access from the pier area turned the waterfront into a bustling metropolitan area, with Rock Park, an exclusive housing development, providing grand villas for influential and wealthy people, including famous American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, the American Consul and the Norwegian Consul.
In Victorian times, commercial activity was centred on the Royal Rock Hotel and the neighbouring Olympian gardens, a popular venue for music hall and vaudeville entertainment.
Cliff said: "It's dreadful that it has been allowed to deteriorate for the last 40 years. Now that we have taken control, we're trying to do something about it."
In a masterplan set out by the Trust - which gained ownership of the waterfront in 2020 - a 100-berth marina with floating pontoons would take pride of place among the proposed improvements.
A watersports centre would provide a permanent base for sailing and and other activities, while also giving the Royal Mersey Yacht Club and the Liverpool/Tranmere Alliance access to a new and improved boat yard, storage, and maintenance.
A new road directly off the Rock Ferry bypass onto Bedford Road East has been proposed, along with a public car park on the lower part of the former Royal Rock hotel site.
The Trust has also noted that Wirrall Council has already given planning permission for 21 apartments to be built on the Bath Cottages site, and has proposed the main part of the former Royal Rock hotel site would be suitable for additional housing.
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