Will Alsop's ill-fated futuristic Cloud design was abandoned

National Museums Liverpool have been given �7.5m of European Union funding to go towards the �65m total needed.

More money is needed for the project, and a final decision about what the museum would hold has not been taken.

Its organisers hope to find more funding from the pot put aside by the North West Development Agency for Will Alsop's ill-fated Cloud design.

The museum would be 'sensitive' to the city's Three Graces

The site falls within a World Heritage Area and David Flemming, chair of National Museums Liverpool, said care would be taken with the design of the building.

This follows controversy over Mr Alsop's futuristic Cloud design, which many people feared would clash with the Three Graces - the Liver, Port of Liverpool and Cunard buildings.

The project was abandoned in 2004 due to rising costs.

Mr Flemming said: "Everybody knows that this is a tremendously sensitive site. It's a beautiful site with some beautiful buildings around it.

"It's also got some fairly horrible buildings not far away - Liverpool's development in the last few decades hasn't always brought buildings that people would be very pleased with.

'Three Graces'

"Nevertheless this is right bang in the centre of a World Heritage Site.

"We're very conscious of these issues, of the need to maintain sightlines of the Three Graces.

"We don't want to go too high and we don't want something in terms of materials that looks like its come from another dimension."

John Flamson, director of the Objective One programme, which handles the allocation of European Union money to Merseyside, said the North West Development Agency would soon announce how money allocated for the Fourth Grace would now be spent in the city.

He said: "It's kept on hold the money it had for the Fourth Grace and we're hoping it will make positive decisions about investing that on that site.