WIRRAL South MP Alison McGovern will meet the head of North West Heritage Lottery Fund next month to find out how Wirral can attract a greater proportion of funding.

During the meeting with Sara Hilton on January 7, Miss McGovern will find out how funding applications from local heritage organisations could be increased.

The meeting was arranged after the MP raised the issue in parliament, noting that the borough has received only 0.85 per cent of the £156m awarded by the Lottery Heritage Fund to the North West in the last five years.

In her speech, Miss McGovern called on the Government to take steps to support Wirral in preserving its cultural heritage whilst noting that a register of historical buildings on Wirral has not been completed, despite Wirral Council having agreed to its creation in consultation with the Wirral History and Heritage Association.

She said: "Not only is it important to appreciate our heritage and to protect it for future generations but we also have features, such as the industrial villages of Bromborough Pool and Port Sunlight, that are capable of playing a formative role in developing tourism.

"This in turn would provide a boost to the local economy, leading to employment opportunities that will become increasingly valuable as government cuts take their toll.

"I intend to ask Sara Hilton why the Wirral has received such a small share of the overall North West heritage funding and to seek her advice on how the situation can be improved.

"Whilst I recognise the region's cities have proud heritages in need of preservation this should not be done at the expense of other areas in the North West that also have their own stories to tell."