Felicity Roberts, director and DO at Specsavers, says ‘while central Birkenhead undoubtedly has had social and economic challenges, it is surrounded by leafy suburbs where household income is above the regional average.’
The practice opened in 1992 with a staff of six. It now employs nearly 70 people either full or part time, has eight optometrists, two CLOs, five DOs and three audiologists. ‘We are open seven days a week and have colleagues fluent in seven different languages,’ she says.
Roberts (pictured below), who has worked at Specsavers for her entire 14 years in optics, says ‘good times may be coming back as plans have been approved for a £4.5bn redevelopment of the docks and waterfront which it is hoped will provide 20,000 new jobs’.
‘Being so close to Liverpool however can put Birkenhead in danger of getting left in the shadows,’ says Steve Young, store manager of Vision Express for the past 15 years. ‘We are trying to change that by redeveloping the town centre and investing in the local economy.’
Young says brands such as Ray-Ban have been selling well recently as well as more exclusive makes. ‘More generally speaking, Ted Baker is regularly chosen by our female clientele while the men really like Hugo Boss and Carrera men’s,’ he says.
Young says Birkenhead’s community feel makes it an enjoyable and rewarding place to work. ‘Some of our customers have been coming to us for over 20 years and have even become our friends during that time.’
Keeley Burgess, practice manager of Optisavers Sight and Sound in Birkenhead, says ‘working in Birkenhead is extremely rewarding’. Her store has been opened for about two years.
The practice has a strategy of offering free eye exams in order to get people into the practice. After that point Burgess says, ‘our emphasis on customer service is what keeps people returning’. She recalls one particular case where an abnormality led to the referral of a patient who had a tumour in the back of their eye. After it was removed the patient came into store to thank the staff involved.
Optisavers also has a glazing lab on site and can turn prescriptions around in an hour, helping them stand out from the crowd, says Burgess. It stocks brands such as Gucci, Tom Ford and Ray-Ban, as well as more affordable options that increases the store’s appeal across different demographics.
Who’s in town
Total: 10
Independents: 7
Multiples: 3
Average costs
The price of an eye exam in Birkenhead ranges from £0 to £32, at an average cost of £22.
Population
Population: 143,835
Community eye care
Wirral Local Optical Committee has a contract with Wirral CCG in Cataract Referral, Glaucoma Repeat Readings, Low Vision, OHT Monitoring, Minor Eye Condition Service and Learning Disabilities (LOCSU Atlas Map of Optical Variation).
Health and affluence
- The average house price in Birkenhead is £112,473 (Zoopla), compared with a UK average of £224,144 (Land Registry, 2018).
- Birkenhead has an average salary of £19,347, with the UK average being £27,271 (Payscale, 2018).
- There are an estimated 11,500 people living with some degree of sight loss in the Wirral – 4,100 living with either moderate or severe sight loss (RNIB Sight Loss Data Tool).
- In the Wirral, it is estimated that there are 15,120 people at risk of or living with sight loss due to the early stages of AMD (RNIB).
Fact file
Birkenhead Park, designed by Joseph Paxton (pictured), was the first publicly funded park in Britain. It opened in 1847 and inspired the design of New York’s Central Park.
The Wirral was the site of the Battle of Brunanburh (Bromborough) in 937 which unified the armies of England for the first time to fight off Norwegian and Scottish invaders.
Hamilton Square in Birkenhead has the second greatest number of listed buildings in the country, after London’s Trafalgar Square.
In August 1860, Birkenhead became the first town in Europe to run a public tram service.
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