New blow as glass centre to be axed

The International Glass Centre, which has been in the Black Country for more than 25 years, will close in another blow to the region's heritage.

Bosses at Dudley College, which owns the centre in Brierley Hill, say it is no longer viable due to a drop in demand for glass courses. Courses will be moved to the Mons Hill Campus, in Wrens Hill Road, Dudley, over the summer before the Victorian building is put up for sale later in the year.

College principal Lowell Williams says moving glass-making courses from the IGC will provide a better educational experience for art and design students.

He said: "It's disappointing that it has come to this but all students will be provided for at the Mons Hill campus."

"We are in the middle of a 30-day consultation period internally to discuss the IGC. The building will close in the autumn and once all the courses are moved in the summer the building will be de-commissioned."

At present there are 30 students on courses at the the centre who will have to move to the Mons Hill campus along with new students starting in September.

Five members of staff work at the centre and they are part of the consultation period deciding their future, said Mr Williams.

There has been a dramatic decline in job opportunities in the glass industry since the closure of major firms including Royal Brierley Crystal, near the centre in Brierley Hill, and Stuart Crystal, Wordsley.

Councillor Dave Tyler, who is campaigning to save the under-threat Broadfield House Glass Museum in Kingswinford, said the news of the closure of the IGC was another blow.

"I think it's sad and another another in the coffin for the glass heritage in this area," he said.

The IGC is housed in a Victorian building, in Moor Street which started as a technical institute and library. The International Glass Centre is described on the college's website as a "centre of excellence superbly equipped to train apprentices in glass blowing and decorative skills."