TV PRODUCER Phil Redmond has said he believes Runcorn's Brindley arts centre is the sort of 'iconic' project Liverpool must mimic if its year as International City of Culture is to be a success.

Mr Redmond - who created TV classics Grange Hill and Brookside - says The Brindley's innovative design puts most theatres in the North West to shame.

And he believes Liverpool will have to come up with a Brindley of its own for 2008.

He said: 'The modern, well-equipped Brindley, with plenty of car parking is a reminder of how invigorating live performance can be, but also how awful most of the region's more established theatres are.

'If Liverpool's Capital of Culture year wants to leave one iconic project to future generations, then it should sculpt the region a large, viable, technologically advanced performing space with plenty of parking.

'To Halton's credit, they have set the lead with the Brindley.'

He also paid tribute to Halton Borough Council chiefs for their choice of name for the new centre.

He said: 'In an age when the naming of anything becomes a minefield of diplomacy and tact, imagine naming an arts centre after an engineer.

'Standing in the shadow of the Runcorn bridge, the Brindley Arts Centre also sits snugly next to the Bridgewater Canal built, of course, by James Brindley. There is more to this link than sheer proximity.

'Brindley is regarded as one of engineering's great creative thinkers and, like George Stephenson, one of the founders of the Industrial Revolution, which in turn was the foundation of the industrial North West.

'He not only built the Bridgewater Canal, but around 360 miles of canals, including the Trent and Mersey and the Shropshire and Worcester.

'You could say that Brindley's canals, like Stephenson's railways, were sculpted from the earth itself.'

Meanwhile, Tony Blair warned Liverpool it must pay its Capital of Culture bill without Government help - insisting the rules were clear from the start.

The Prime Minister said it had 'always been the case' the successful city would meet the cost of the celebration year from its own funds.

And he dismissed comparisons to Government support for London's bid for the 2012 Olympics - which totals £15m for the application alone.