Ironbridge teddy bear firm may decide to open shop
Merrythought, the Ironbridge-based teddy bear company, has submitted an application to change one of its buildings to a shop.
The country's last remaining teddy bear factory has made the application to Telford & Wrekin Council.
Merrythought has downsized production over the past 20 years due to competition from cheap foreign imports and the general decline in the British manufacturing industry.
Hannah Holmes, a spokeswoman for Merrythought, said there were no plans in place to turn the building into a shop, but there were simply keeping their options open.
She said: "It's not really a planning application, it is just a change of use for the building.
"It's an option we want to keep open. It's the option of having a community store as Ironbridge doesn't have one at the moment.
"It is just one way that we are looking to improve the site because it costs an absolute fortune to maintain. We are a lot smaller than we used to be and we have a number of buildings here and we are looking at ways to improve.
"The application is just to change the use for one building. The appearance of the building will not change."
Merrythought's reduced requirement for factory space has resulted in a number of buildings on the site being occupied by other businesses, forming what is currently known as Merrythought Village.
The company now operates small scale production of specialist, collectable teddy bears, each handmade by skilled employees.
They held a consultation evening at the Black Swan pub earlier this year and said feedback from the public was positive. Changes were made including moving the trolley park away from the side of Ironbridge Fine Arts and Framing.
