An international centre to commemorate the longest battle in World War Two is part of major plans for Birkenhead.
Wirral Council has submitted a bid for £19.7m to the government as part of the Levelling Up Fund announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak last November.
If the bid is successful, the money will be spent on improving the Woodside area of Birkenhead.
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Among the plans for Woodside is an upgrade to the U-boat visitor attraction to create an International Battle of the Atlantic Centre.
The battle ran from 1939 until the end of the war and pitted U-boats against the Royal Navy.
Birkenhead’s Cammell Laird played a huge role in Britain's campaign, building more than 100 warships during the Second World War.
As well as this scheme, there will be upgrades to the Woodside Ferry Pontoon and terminal building, and a relocation of the bus turnaround.
The Woodside gyratory will also be reorganised if Wirral’s bid is successful.
The funding has been made available to local authorities as part of the government’s £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, set up to help bankroll projects focused on town centre and high street regeneration, local transport, culture and heritage.
Councils can bid for up to £20m per project and each area is put into one of three bands of priority based on factors such as the need for economic growth and improved transport connections.
This determines how likely their bids are to be successful. Wirral is in Band Two, the middle band.
Wirral Council expects to hear whether it will be granted the £19.7m sum this autumn and said that in the meantime it will keep working on designs for the area along with Merseytravel.
Cllr Janette Williamson, leader of Wirral Council, said: “It would be fantastic to use this funding to further improve one of Wirral’s most iconic sites.
“It is one of our gateways for those arriving from across the Mersey, and we are keen to be able to invest in making ferry travel as easy as possible.
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The Labour leader added: “Bringing more tourism over from Liverpool would bring jobs and further prosperity, and we are working on a wide-ranging active travel plan, which would see joined up transport options, with ferries, buses, trains, walking and cycling.
“We hope that the government will consider the wide-ranging regeneration work we have already started in Birkenhead and Wallasey, and will see how this fits in with a vision for a more equal Wirral - which is levelling up in every sense.”
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