Shropshire's Museum of Iron set for a new look thanks to £1 million revamp

The cafe at the Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale, will be removed to make way for space to hold new exhibitions, with plans to build a bigger and better eatery nearby.

Telford & Wrekin Council has approved proposals to change the use of the cafe and to make minor internal changes.

The work will cost more than £1 million and will see the museum closed to visitors in the autumn, reopening in Easter 2017.

The changes are part of the museum's 50th anniversary celebrations. It is hoped that work to improve the exhibits will begin as early as the end of the year.

Bosses at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust plan to create a new cafe under the long warehouse.

A report lodged with the planning application said: "The existing cafe within the great warehouse will soon become redundant as catering will be provided elsewhere within the vicinity. This space therefore will be reused by the museum for displaying its collection.

"The proposed works would therefore involve alterations to the building, in order to facilitate this use of the space.

"The proposed alterations will take place internally, the external elevations of the building will not be affected."

The route taken by visitors through the building is also expected to change, making it easier for wheelchair users.

"The visitors' route through the museum will begin in, what is currently, the cafe area on the ground floor and move upstairs to the second floor. It will then carry onto the first floor and finish back on the ground floor.

"At the moment the route for wheelchair users is very different from able bodied visitors. This alteration addresses this problem making the visitor route the same for all visitors."

There are plans to refurbish the Museum of Iron over the winter and the refurbished museum will tell the global story of how Coalbrookdale changed the world forever.

Earlier this year, the Friends of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust were given the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service – the highest award given to voluntary groups across the United Kingdom, intended to recognise outstanding work done in the local community.

The Friends of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is one of more than 190 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the award this year.