£2m funding boost for new Black Country museum

The British Glass Foundation has secured £2.1m to help transform the former Stuart Crystal site, opposite the Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley near Stourbridge.

The new museum which will be at the heart of the area's glassmaking heritage will be a 'beacon of excellence', trustee Graham Fisher said.

Work to renovate the old glassworks is already under way by developer Complex Development Projects Ltd and as well as the museum, there will be a stylish apartment block and offices.

The £2.1m funding grant has come from the European Regional Development Fund – ERDF – and means all the cash for the £5m attraction is now in place. Graham Knowles, chairman of the British Glass Foundation, which will run the museum, said securing the grant was 'wonderful news'.

"Stourbridge has an illustrious association with world-quality glass that goes back over four centuries. This exciting development will help ensure that it's future will be equally bright," he said.

"We have been working very closely with the developer, Complex Development Projects Limited and Dudley Council over the last few years to make this happen and we are pleased that European money is coming into Dudley which will benefit the local community and boost tourism in the area," added Mr Knowles. Mr Fisher said: "'This new glass facility at the heart of the area's glassmaking heritage will offer a beacon of excellence that will attract international attention, placing Stourbridge glass once more at the very focus of the industry.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: "We are delighted to have received the offer of European funding as without this, the new museum project would not have happened.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Complex Developments and the British Glass Foundation to make this project a reality and we will continue to work closely with the BGF once they take over the running of the museum."