Day or night, you won't miss a story with the Liverpool Echo newsletter Sign me up now Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Britain’s place in or out of Europe is set to dominate the political debate for the next four months.

The “out” campaign is already up-and-running, having effectively forced Prime Minister David Cameron to commit to June’s referendum .

But walk through any town centre across Merseyside and you will be able to spot investments that were paid for with European funding.

Funding from Brussels started in 1994 when £700m was allocated under the Objective One programme.

In 2000, another £928m followed and between 2007 and 2013 the North West shared another £700m.

Europe is set to agree to £450m to be spent in Merseyside between 2014 and 2020.

Here we take a look at some of the EU-funded schemes which have shaped our region.

1. Queen Square

Queen Square benefited from the first Objective One funding scheme between 1994-99, which helped transform the acres of derelict and semi-derelict land and buildings close to Lime Street station, and bringing what was to become one of the first in a series of major hotels to the city centre.

2. Liverpool John Lennon Airport

John Lennon has little resemblance to the old “chicken shed” that Liverpool’s airport formerly was. The airport was surrounded by crumbling infrastructure that made for a bleak introduction for those travelling into the city.

Linked to this development was the Speke and Garston business park on the site of the former Speke airfield which was another early priority for Objective 1 funding – the area now has 650 employers and 15,000 jobs.

3. Public Transport

The EU has also invested in public road links including the key rail connection to John Lennon Airport at Liverpool South Parkway, as well as in in St Helens and Liverpool’s Edge Lane.

4. Birkenhead town centre

Birkenhead enjoyed a new town centre bus station and a new railway station at Conway Park as part of EU-funded efforts to help regenerate the area. So far, the suggestion that this “brought new appeal to the town as a shopping destination” has yet to be born out, but the infrastrucutre is in place.

5. Knowsley jobs and investment

Objective One investment in land reclamation, better access and support for developers helped to attract companies such as QVC , which has invested £85m in its 600,000sq ft Knowsley operation, creating 2,500 jobs.

6. New Brighton re-development

New Brighton’s massive redevelopment was part-funded through cash from the European Regional Development Fund. The money was used to help finance the new Floral Pavilion in the first phase of a development which has revitalised the seaside resort and seen a Morrisons supermarket, the Light Cinema and numerous restaurants open.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

7. Liverpool ECHO Arena

The largest single investment (and also the largest single EU investment nationally) is the Arena and Convention Centre on the Liverpool Waterfront, which received almost £50m from Objective One towards its £160m cost.

8. Liverpool’s cruise liner terminal

Dozens of cruise ships, naval vessels and tall ships have brought thousands of people and millions of pounds into the local economy thanks to an EU investment of £9m in the city’s new £19m cruise liner terminal . This has now become so successful that 2016 is set to see another packed schedule for Liverpool’s cruise liner terminal with a total of 19 ships lined up to visit , some on multiple occasions.

9. Public spaces

Some £12m of EU investment in city centre public spaces led to highlights such as the fountains in Williamson Square, as well as improvements to public areas around St Helens.

10. St George’s Hall

Jewel of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, St George’s Hall benefitted from a £23m restoration, including £3m from the EU. The historic building recently hosted the Weeping Window poppies installation, which saw around 150,000 people flock to see it in its first week.

This year it is set to host an ambitious programme of comedy, music and cabaret.

11. The Bluecoat

EU investment in the Bluecoat helped to restore and extend the city centre’s oldest building. The historic centre now hosts a wide variety of arts and cultural events.

12. Anglican Cathedral

European investment in Britain’s largest cathedral – Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral – has helped attract thousands of extra visitors to the city. Standing nearly 500ft above the Mersey, the imposing structure took nearly 74 years to reach completion and was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott.

13. Metropolitan cathedral

£1.4m improved access to Sir Edwin Lutyens’ magnificent Metropolitan Cathedral crypt.

The Metropolitan Cathedral wasn’t universally liked when it was first built, but it was received with affection and quickly earned itself the nickname ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’.

14. Office space

Hundreds of thousands of square feet of high quality office space across Merseyside has been developed with the help of EU funding in recent years, from Liverpool city centre to south Wirral.

15. Theatre Royal in St Helens

European cash also helped provide a a bright new facade for the Theatre Royal in St Helens.The current site was constructed in 1861.

16. Olive Mount

The £8.3m Olive Mount chord re-instated a missing link to boost rail freight and reduce road traffic.

The new chord allows for rail freight to and from the Port of Liverpool to use the Chat Moss line and the West Coast Main Line, without the need to reverse in the Edge Hill area.

17. European Social Fund

Since 2000 almost £285m of European Social Fund (ESF) cash has been invested in 1,260 projects to develop the skills of the people of Merseyside. And last year the European Commission and British government signed the deal for funding which will see £190m handed to Merseyside over the next five years.