Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership is bidding for £4m from the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund to build Eureka! at Seacombe ferry terminal in Birkenhead. Tony McDonough reports

Wirral Waterfront could be home to an £11m National Children’s Museum is a bid for Government funding is successful.

Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is bidding for £4m from the Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund to build Eureka! at Seacombe ferry terminal in Birkenhead.

The proposal aims to build on the success of Eureka! The National Children’s Museum in Halifax, by creating Eureka! Mersey – a place designed to inspire young people to explore science, technology, engineering, arts and maths.

The facility will be developed to create 22,000 sq ft of interactive exhibition space with workshops, a shop, café and adjoining outdoor science park.

There are 11 towns and cities across Northern England bidding for a share of a the £15m fund to help build a lasting regional legacy from the Great Exhibition of the North. If the bid is successful Merseytravel and Wirral Council will also contribute funding to the project, which would be due to open in 2020/21.

LEP chair Asif Hamid said: “The whole ethos behind the bid is create a place that is engaging, stimulating and fun for young people, helping to raise their skills, understanding and aspiration and equipping them for the jobs of the future.

“If the bid is successful, Eureka! Mersey will also bring a world class visitor attraction to the city region, stimulating regeneration in a key waterfront location and greatly enhance our tourism offering.”

The fund is designed to boost the Northern Powerhouse and build on the impact of the 2018 Great Exhibition of the North. Held in Newcastle and Gateshead next summer, the free family-friendly exhibition will showcase the best of northern art, design and innovation.

Wirral Council leader Phil Davies added: “As a demonstration of our unequivocal support for the proposal I have awarded Eureka! a business grant of £308,000 to support them to bring this world-class cultural attraction to our waterfront.”

The announcement on the successful bids to the fund will be made in March.