THE plans to create a Shakespeare North playhouse and education centre in Prescot have moved a step closer to reality as £5million of funding was confirmed by Arts Council England towards the project.

The funding, from the Treasury, was pledged by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as part of the budget announcement in May 2016.

Since, Knowsley Council and Shakespeare North Trust have presented a business plan to Arts Council England to endorse the funding.

John Flaherty, executive director at Knowsley Council said: “This is a fantastic achievement and a key milestone for Shakespeare North Trust and Knowsley Council.

"Not only does it mean we now have £11m of confirmed funding, but it is also a huge seal of approval and vote of confidence from the Arts Council that the Shakespeare theatre and education centre is a viable and sustainable business.

“It will also strengthen the Outline Business Case submission to the Combined Authority Single Investment Fund to secure a further £6.5m funding towards the development.”

The funding will be used towards creating an iconic 330-seat Jacobean court style theatre and study centre, education and community resources and exhibition area, the supporting administrative offices and catering and hospitality facilities.

Subject to funding, construction of the new playhouse is expected to start in January next year.

A proposal to create the theatre was approved by Knowsley Council in April last year, with the project expected to cost around £26million.

The facility will reflect the area's rich heritage, with Prescot the only English town outside of London to have a purpose-built indoor playhouse in Elizabethan times.

The playhouse will be the first of its kind to focus on Shakespearean performance and practice and students will study and perform in the place where Shakespeare’s company practised their craft.

It will also provide educational and cultural opportunities for residents and attract actors, writers, artists and students from all over the world.

The theatre's design will combines a modern exterior with a historically accurate reproduction of a Jacobean cockpit style theatre that seeks to recreate a design by one of the leading architects of the time, Inigo Jones.

It will be the only example of a Jacobean theatre outside London’s Globe and will complete the Shakespearian triangle of Stratford Upon Avon, London and Prescot.