Work on a new children's museum in Wirral is about to start after the closure of Spaceport.
The site, by Seacombe Ferry, is set to become a new science centre from the popular Yorkshire museum Eureka!
Speaking to the ECHO today, the museum's chief executive confirmed they are hoping to welcome visitors at the new attraction by next year.
Leigh-Anne Stradeski, Chief Executive Eureka! told the ECHO : "Eureka! are really excited to be getting on site in June 2021 to begin to create our brand new Science and Discovery Centre.
"There’s lots of exciting things about to happen, and we hope to welcome our first visitors by summer 2022."
The site is currently closed and undergoing work by Merseytravel, who own the building.
A Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spokesperson said: "As part of our work to invest in the long term future of Mersey Ferries, Seacombe Ferry Terminal is currently closed for the renewal of the link span bridges and refurbishment of the landing stage.
"We have used this opportunity to carry out a range of essential works and improvements at Seacombe to improve the facilities and prepare for Eureka! to start on site and build their exciting new attraction.”
The news follows on from a 2019 Liverpool City Region report that said visitor numbers to Spaceport had dropped from 96,000 a year a decade ago to 36,000 a year. It was also making a loss of £250K a year so was forced to close.
Many were not surprised by the news and while some ECHO readers had fond memories of Spaceport, many commented that it had lost its way over the years and was due for a change.
Lee Wright said: "Took my daughter when the Star Wars exhibition was on, it was worth it then but wouldn’t have paid just for the museum."
Sharon Fildes-Johnson said: "I'm not surprised its closing it's really expensive."
Another ECHO reader said: "Used to be decent when it first opened but they just kept putting the prices up without offering much new."
Back in 2019, Merseytravel invited operators to propose new uses for the building and Eureka! National Children's Museum stepped forward.
The combined authority report said: "The proposal is to open a new museum in Liverpool based at the Seacombe ferry terminal, Wirral.
"The museum will focus on promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (“STEAM”) activities for children in the Liverpool City Region (“LCR”).
"The proposed science and discovery centre will build on the successful experience of Eureka! National Children’s Museum in Halifax.
"The Museum will target a broad range of visitors and the core audience will be children aged 6-14."
The total cost of the new museum at Seacombe is estimated to be £11.75m.
As well as the combined authority funding Eureka! has also secured £3m from the national Inspiring Science Fund.
A summary of the business case for the new museum projects that it could draw 187,000 visitors a year.
The original Eureka! opened in 1992 and now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.
