A major £5.6m overhaul of The Brindley theatre will make it a cultural venue of ‘national significance’, council chiefs have been told.

Halton’s executive board convened for a meeting in Widnes yesterday where they unanimously backed plans to redevelop the site and put the work out to tender.

The money comes from a larger pot of £23.6m provided via the Government's Town Deal and is one of seven projects aimed at transforming Runcorn Town Centre.

The planned Brindley work includes a new extension with a large café-restaurant, with the existing glazed entrance being demolished as part of the remodelling work. Runcorn library will also be relocated and integrated into The Brindley building itself.

In addition to work on the building’s physical structure, almost £1m has also been earmarked to transform Brindley Green into a new civic space.

The Brindley opened in 2004 and project chiefs said the planned integration of the library would take some of its design cues from the Storyhouse theatre in Chester, with free wi-fi and laptop and phone charging points at tables to allow people to work and study.

Speaking at yesterday’s meeting, council deputy leader Cllr Dave Thompson, told members: “What's great about this particular facility, which we're already pretty proud of anyway, is by the time this is finished I think it will be nationally significant as a as a cultural venue.

“I know people who live outside of Halton and to them this is the prime theatre and the prime location for entertainment, it really is a fantastic facility and will draw visitors in.”

The project will now be put out to tender via The Chest - a local authority procurement portal - with companies invited to bid for the work.

Once a contractor is appointed the work will be due to start next January and take just under a year to finish, with a planned completion date of December, 2024 in time for next year’s Christmas panto.