Shakespeare North to get £6m boost from Knowsley Council

It is hoped the new theatre will join other Shakespeare attractions like The Globe in London

Plans to create a £19m Shakespearean theatre and education hub in Merseyside are set to receive a £6m boost from Knowsley Council.

The 350-seat Shakespeare North Playhouse is planned for Prescot, where the first Elizabethan indoor theatre outside of London was built.

The theatre will be built alongside a new international university college focusing on Shakespearean drama.

The council planning committee will consider the plans next month.

Councillor Andy Moorheard, leader of the Labour-controlled council said, it would be a "huge boost" to Knowsley and the Liverpool region.

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"While the proposals still need to gain the necessary planning approval, it would appear to be very much in the interests of local people and businesses to do what we can to make sure the development happens," he added.

The Shakespeare Trust hopes a combination of public finance and private donors will pay for the project.

The theatre will be built based on designs for The Cockpit in Whitehall drawn by Inigo Jones in 1629.

Among the project's patrons are Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Helen Mirren.

It is hoped the college will be affiliated with Liverpool John Moores University