Pressure for carpet museum

A scheme to open a Midlands' carpet museum is gathering pace with preparations for a Heritage Lottery Fund bid being drawn up. Campaigners hope to get £1.3 million for a Kidderminster museum to celebrate the town's heritage.

But it could be 2010 before the museum opens. Volunteers face a marathon task trying to catalogue equipment and items donated. Interesting archives are being stored in the MCF Complex in Kidderminster as well as in other areas and machinery is at Brintons in Telford.

When officially opened the museum, set to be created in the old Stourvale Mills building in Green Street, will house a working Wilton loom and volunteers are expected to provide demonstrations for visitors.

Melvyn Thompson, chairman of the Friends of the Carpet Museum Trust, said members were delighted that planning approval has been granted for a new Morrisons store at the former Woodward Grosvenor site at Stour Vale. The scheme had also paved the way for a change of use of the listed building for a museum.

"Since then, the trust has secured a project planning grant of up to £50,000 to help prepare plans and policies leading to an application for funding the museum.

"This grant has been a major step forward in the creation of a museum in Kidderminster for the carpet industry," he added.

Charles Talbot, secretary to the trust, said that although there was "still a long way to go" the public could be assured that "the determination to win through is as strong as ever". "We are a vibrant force in the regeneration of Kidderminster," he said.

Trust chairman Mr Melvyn Thompson added: "We are all very busy trying to get the project planning together and are also working very hard on cataloguing the items we have."

Items donated include minute books, patents, drawings, plans, photographs, carpets and samples as well as letters and books from the Southwell Carpets collection.

A silver salver and model steam engine, made by engineer E Groves, have also been donated to the Trust.

Mr Thompson said: "If anyone would like to spare a few hours to help catalogue the objects we have in our possession they can contact me on 01562 67077."