A £750,000 chimpanzee enclosure at Dudley Zoo has finally won planning permission after a 10-month wait.

Zoo chiefs unveiled plans to convert one of their listed Tecton buildings into a home for the primates back in August 2008 and the scheme has now got the backing of Dudley Council.

It means the attraction, in Castle Hill, will now be able to forge ahead with other expansion plans as the new chimpanzee enclosure forms part of a long-term project to free up land at the site for future redevelopment.

Once known as Polar Bear Complex, the Tecton building being taken over by the chimps has housed polar bears and later lions and tigers.

But its Grade II listed status means the zoo had to apply to Dudley Council’s development and control committee for permission to make alterations to it.

Now that Dudley Council has approved their application, staff hope to demolish an associated non-listed building and refurbish the listed one.

The £750,000 enclosure will feature both indoor and outdoor compartments for the chimps. A design and access statement submitted on behalf of zoo chief executive Peter Suddock reveals how he hopes to create “an illusion of unrestrained animals” outdoors.

It will fit in with recent bids by the zoo to make their animals more accessible and follows hot on the heels of the new lion enclosure, Lion Ridge, that opened last month. Lion Ridge allows visitors to watch the beasts from a viewing platform that actually protrudes into the enclosure.

Costing £150,000 to complete, Lion Ridge was finished in time for the arrival of the zoo’s new Asiatic lion, Itar. The 18-month-old cub was transferred from a park in Holland following the death of the previous male lion Max at the end of last year.

It is hoped that he might mate with the female lion, Gir, and help to secure the future of the endangered breed.

Mr Suddock has previously said the chimpanzees’ move from their existing home on the site will free up space for potential developments in the future. Speaking when the plans were first revealed, he said: “We are going to get people closer to the animals so they can really appreciate them.

“We think it is going to work extremely well and it shows we are committed to our animals. This all forms part of our long-term plan to free up land at the zoo for future development.”

One new building is also proposed to complete the new chimp enclosure but designers say it will be “modest” in appearance.

Part of the former lion enclosure will also be incorporated into the attraction with the hope of creating a really “wild” environment for the chimpanzees. The new enclosure has been granted planning permission on the condition that work is started within three years and that detailed statements about the refurbishment work and materials used are submitted before any work goes ahead.