Plans unveiled for new Birkenhead U-Boat Story museum
Big Heritage CIC has lodged proposals to build a facility in Woodside centred around the historic German U-534 submarine, three years after the closure of its former exhibit.
Designed by MGMA Architects, the scheme would see the demolition of the existing single-storey museum extension at Woodside Ferry Terminal to make way for the new three-storey U-Boat Story attraction.
The 6,700 sq ft museum building would retain the U-534 submarine “at the heart of a visitor attraction dedicated to the Battle of the Atlantic, connecting Birkenhead with this world-shaping story”, according to a design and access statement.
Plans also include large object displays and a café event space, along with interactive and interpretive exhibits.
One of only four surviving U-boats, and the only one in Britain, U-534 has not been accessible to the public since the closure of the former museum on site in 2020 due to defects in roof covering and waterproofing.
The development is being funded by £19.6m of Levelling Up funding provided by the government to regenerate the area around Woodside.
The U-534 submarine is one of only four surviving U-boats. Credit: via planning documents
Big Heritage CIC operates and manages a number of locations, including the nearby Western Approaches – an Allied World War Two headquarters that tracked submarines like the U-534.
This scheme would create a new campus to bring together the headquarters and the enemy submarine to broaden visitor interpretations of the Battle of the Atlantic, with one ticket allowing access to both museums.
The project team includes Sutcliffe, Curtins, and Rachel Hacking Ecology.
Want to learn more about the project? Search for application number APP/23/01407 on Wirral Council’s planning portal.
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All well and good but will they be welding the two sections of the U Boat back together?
By Anonymous
How can a submarine that has been cut in half expect to be waterproof
By Anonymous
Will this new Museum be free to the public like other Museums as the grant has come from the Government.
By Ronald Burkey
Excellent! Adds to the exiting attractions telling the story of the vital role played by Liverpool/Birkenhead in the Battle of the Atlantic including it’s HQ bunker, Western Approaches, and the the Battle of the Atlantic Gallery in the Maritime Museum.
By Bootle Blitz
That is cool idea
By Kamen
The old sub museum was a great day out,is the Resurgam sub still in place are to you able to view it still ,I believe this has been renewed
By Stuart Law
Would love to see it as the U-534 is the one my father in law and his crew had a bit of a shoot out with . 3 crew survived 2 went down with the plane 1 died before being rescued the evening of 27/28 August 1944. The crew member who died before being rescued now has an airport named after him in Salute st Marie Canada.
By Mrs Ford