A new Maritime Knowledge Hub would see the Grade II listed Hydraulic Tower on the Birkenhead docklands transformed into a centre for education, research and training within the maritime sector.

The plan has been put forward by Peel L&P and is part of the Wirral Waters project, a scheme set to deliver up to 13,000 homes across several different sites along the docklands over the next 25 years.

The design and access statement attached to the plan, put together by Ellis Williams Architects, said the plan will see a four-storey extension to the building which will provide floorspace for office use, research and development, and education, as well as a cafe, parking spaces and more.

Set within the existing nineteenth century Hydraulic Tower building and Engine House, originally designed by John Bernard Hartley as a copy of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy, Peel L&P believes the Maritime Knowledge Hub will "breathe new life" into the building.

The firm said architects have retained as much of the building's original character as possible, complementing the historic tower with the creation of a new four-storey extension to accommodate some of the country's most famous and innovative maritime organisations.

Peel L&P said the hub will be industry led and will drive research and innovation by bringing education, businesses and government together within the UK's £50bn maritime sector. The current plan is for building work to start in 2023, assuming Wirral Council approves the planning application.

Richard Mawdsley, Peel L&P's director of development at Wirral Waters, said: "This is a pioneering regeneration project which will offer so much to the UK's maritime sector. Wirral and the Liverpool City Region have a proud maritime heritage and the development of the Maritime Knowledge Hub will not only continue that heritage, but it also presents a fantastic opportunity for job creation and economic growth for the whole of the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

"The design of the Hub and the regeneration of the tower is very special with education, industry and culture at its very core. The tower is a very important local asset, full of history and heritage, and it's only right that it takes centre stage of the Wirral Waters regeneration project."