Wirral Council vote to transfer Wirral Heritage Transport Museum to local charity

The Wirral Transport Museum and Tramway is to change hands with Wirral Council having recently voted to transfer ownership to local non-profit organisation, Big Heritage. The Merseyside Transport Preservation Society will still be involved in the running of the museum and tramway but with the leadership of Big Heritage it is hoped that visit numbers will significantly increase.

Big Heritage is described on their website as a not for profit community interest company and was founded in 2011 to connect communities and audience to their shared heritage. They currently operate attractions such as Western Approaches (an iconic WW2 Top Secret HQ hidden under the streets of Liverpool), Sick to Death (a history of medicine attraction in Chester) and the Deva Roman Discovery Centre.

As part of their proposal to the Council, Big Heritage said that they will be able to create a compelling visitor attraction and would bring in more than 40,000 visitors a year (up from the current 6,000).

The proposal to transfer ownership to Big Heritage has been unanimously supported by the board of the Merseyside Transport Preservation Society. Rob Jones, Secretary of the MTPS, said: “Our main concern has been knowing what are we charging for people to come in, who are asking us questions that we really don’t know the answer to. That worries our members. I am all for the Big Heritage asset transfer. I’m 68 and I’m one of the younger people in the group. My personal passion is that we should go ahead with this because I think it is the future.”

At a recent Council meeting, despite some reservations, it was agreed to transfer the museum and tramway to Big Heritage who will take over the running costs (saving the Council £85,000) and receive a 25 year lease. In making the decision the Council also praised the volunteers from the MTPS who have kept it running over the years, often in challenging circumstances.