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Great news for Peak Cluster opposers, the company has dropped plans for a large compression facility on the north Wirral coast, and has brought forward its next public consultation to Thursday, 12 November.
The carbon capture scheme would carry CO2 from cement and lime works in the Peak District, through Cheshire and across Wirral, to be stored in depleted gas fields offshore.
The first round of plans showed a coastal compression facility measuring 300m by 180m and up to four to five storeys high.
Under the revised plans, it would be replaced by a smaller Above Ground Installation of about 80m by 80m in the Meols and Moreton area, plus a Block Valve Station of about 25m by 25m.
Peak Cluster says the land needed would be more than 85% smaller than the original compressor station, and the vent stack would be cut from 50 metres to a maximum of 10 metres.
Chief executive David Parkin said the company had found "an alternative technical solution that removes the need for the compressor facility originally proposed for the Wirral".
He added: "While some infrastructure will still be required on the Wirral, the scale of that infrastructure is significantly reduced compared with our earlier proposals."
Campaigners say they will carry on fighting the whole project. Action Against CCS said: "The reduction in AGI size changes nothing. Environmental, safety and fiscal concerns still remain."
Moreton West and Saughall Massie councillor Vida Wilson told the Wirral Globe: "It's not just the size of the emissions factory at Moreton that is the problem – it's the entire project."
Wirral Council has already declared its "steadfast opposition" to the pipeline, and the borough's four MPs issued a joint statement last week.
The consultation had been expected in January. It will now run from 12 November to 18 December 2026, covering the pipeline route, the permanent above-ground infrastructure and land needed temporarily for construction.
Wirral residents can find out more at:
- A Wirral public webinar at 6:30pm on Monday, 23 November.
- An in-person event at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, on Thursday, 3 December.
Details and registration are on the Peak Cluster website. Because it is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, the final decision will be made by the Government, not Wirral Council.
