THE bid by the Hotties Science and Arts Centre Ltd. for £8.4 million funding towards the cost of the £13.7 million World of Glass museum for the town, has passed its most important first hurdle.

The Hotties Board has heard from the Heritage Lottery Funds that the plan to provide the unique museum to encapsulate St Helens' historic links with the glass industry has been short-listed for the final stage.

The results of the bid will be known in February and, if all goes well, the museum will open in spring 1999. A bid has also been made for additional funding towards the project through European Objective One.

The World of Glass is billed as the foremost glass-themed attraction of its kind, combining displays with the very latest inter-active technology.

Sited on the 'Hotties' near the town centre, the £13.7 million development will reflect the borough's unique role in the glass making industry as a world centre for glass research, manufacturing and innovation.

It will boast three exhibition areas, central foyer with retail use and cafe facilities, plus workshops, lecture theatre and archive library. There will also be an outdoor display area.

The museum is to be situated by the side of St Helens Canal, the first industrial canal in the country. It will be linked to the historic and listed Cone House presently being restored to its original state when it helped pioneer the glass industry in the town.

St Helens Council's deputy leader Mike Doyle who is also on the Hotties Board said: "The development of the centre is a very important part of attracting more visitors to the town. We are delighted that the scheme has passed a crucial hurdle in our bid to secure Lottery funding for this imaginative development."

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