Developer Peel Holdings is pushing ahead with plans for a £4.5bn regeneration scheme on the banks of the Mersey despite the continuing fallout from the credit crunch.

Peel has appointed architect Sheppard Robson and planning consultant Turley Associates to work on the Wirral Waters scheme. They will work alongside property consultant CB Richard Ellis and original architect Broadway Malyan.

The developer says the scheme is the largest regeneration project in the country. It covers 500 acres of brownfield land and involves the building of up to 15,000 homes in Birkenhead.

The development will also include 5 million ft2 of office space and 600,000ft2 of shops.

The developer says the scheme will make the Wirral an “international waterside destination to rival Sydney, New York and Shanghai”.

A source close to the development said: “They are pushing ahead – there’s no pause.”

The news comes despite concerns over the viability of other schemes in Merseyside. Last week housebuilder Tony Pidgley, the chief executive of Berkeley Group, said he estimated land prices in Liverpool had fallen 50%.

Peel said it would build the scheme out over a period of 30 years.

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