Did you know that Daniel “James Bond” Craig, went to school in the seaside town of West Kirby? It is one of the many things this little-known spot on the Wirral - the first area profiled in our four-page special on Britain's forgotten seaside towns - keeps quiet.

West Kirby, pictured, is situated where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. It has one of the most renowned windsurfing lakes in Britain, prime family houses and the potential, according to Kevin Adderley, the head of strategic development for Wirral Council, to become a “classic resort”, like nearby Southport. “This is somewhere which can offer a good lifestyle minutes from a wonderful beach,” he says.

The developer who wants to put a £10million hotel on the site of a seafront car park calls West Kirby a “hidden gem”. Alan Beer and his business partner Dave Brewitt hope to build Sail, an 80-bedroom hotel with spa, swimming pool, retail and restaurant space. “We want to attract people on weekend breaks, families, locals who want an alternative to the golf club,” says Beer.

The ambition of their plans, which go to public consultation this month, matches the scale of the site, with its 180-degree water views. “There is no reason why this building shouldn't win the Stirling Prize,” says Brewitt. They have engaged the architects Studio Egret West, who did the masterplan for Middlehaven in Middlesbrough and Urban Splash's project at Park Hill flats in Sheffield. It will be the biggest development in West Kirby since the town - population now 13,000 - established itself as a seaside suburb of Liverpool in the Edwardian era. The legacy of this is a compact centre with smart cafés alongside traditional butchers and bakers, regular rail services to Liverpool (30 minutes away), and streets of well-maintained, largely owner-occupied homes. Some of the most desirable houses overlook Ashton Park, an area of middle-class respectability. More glitzy is the glamorous enclave of Caldy, favoured by the Liverpool FC manager Rafael Benítez, where an eight-bed mansion is for sale for £4.5 million (Bradshaw, Farnham & Lea , 0151 625 8844).

“Lots of fathers go off to Liverpool by train in the morning,” says Karen Hope, 36, who moved here from central Liverpool with her partner, Hugh Thompson, 52, who works for the Civil Service, and their three-year-old daughter, Amy. “There is a brilliant scene for mums and kids. It's very friendly - and small, so you can walk everywhere.” Having grown up in nearby Heswall, she worked as a lawyer before retraining as a teacher. Twelve years ago she purchased a ground-floor period conversion flat for £42,000 as an investment. When the two-storey maisonette above it came on the market in 2005, she and her partner decided to rent out his Georgian townhouse in the Rodney Street conservation area in Liverpool, and settle by the sea. She paid £175,000 for the maisonette; the plan is to put both properties together to create a five-bed house, which she estimates would be worth about £365,000.

There are, of course, residents who object to regeneration plans but it is clear that, attractive as West Kirby is, its infrastructure and facilities need to meet modern demands if it is to maintain its desirability. There is a moratorium on residential new-build, and this helps the town to retain its period cachet, but sellers have to be realistic. Average house prices were more than £300,000 in 2006, but dropped to £187,000 by the end of 2007. Prices have rallied slightly, but activity has been slow this year; only eight properties changed hands in the central CH48 postcode in January and February, according to the Land Registry. This illustrates a new trend emerging in towns undergoing regeneration. Millions may still be being pumped into improving the amenities, but as in West Kirby, the assumption that house prices would carry on rising as a result has been blown away.

Fact File

The average price of a West Kirby property is £247,875 (Land Registry )

Property prices peaked in early 2005, when the average sale was £467,492 (Land Registry )

Detached houses dominate housing stock in West Kirby, comprising 32.7 per cent of the total (mouseprice.net )

There are 2,214 detached houses in West Kirby and just 994 terraced houses (mouseprice.com )

The most expensive road in West Kirby is Kings Drive, with an average value of £1.86million. The least expensive road is Abbotts Way, with an average value of £128,200 (mouseprice.com )

This four-bedroom, double-fronted detached property, left, is close to the centre of both West Kirby and Hoylake, with two good grammar schools in the area. It is for sale for £585,000 (Clive Watkin Partnership , 0151-625 0900). The large two-bedroom apartment, above, in West Kirby is close to a sailing club and lake. It is for sale for £147,450 (Karl Tatler estate agents, 0151-625 9300).

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