The British Ironwork Centre: Golf and mini-railway plan for Oswestry tourist spot

The British Ironwork Centre on the edge of Oswestry has submitted plans to Shropshire Council to create a host of new attractions for the site, including an outdoor theatre, mini railway and crazy golf course.

If the application is successful, there could also be new buildings to house a farm shop, cafe, cycle museum, youth support enterprise centre and more.

Clive Knowles, owner of the venue, said the mini railway would take visitors around the site, stopping off at all the main attractions - including a Capability Brown garden.

Mr Knowles said the new railway would not just be for fun but would also serve a useful function to allow people to easily view the 100-acre site.

"The railway is something that is quite practical," he said. "It's not going to be something that's just for children, as you might imagine. When we look into our demographic, it shows around 40 per cent are an older group who might not be able to walk around the site so easily.

"We also do a lot of work with disabled people and their carers and because the park is situated in the best part of 100 acres, there is a lot of ground to be covered.

"So, for us to have a railway would be great to transport people around the grounds. There would be different stops to allow people to get off an enjoy an area then come back to the central point. It is a big ambition of ours to be able to utilise all of the site."

Mr Knowles hopes the possible new additions would bring even more people to Oswestry and North Shropshire, generating more money for the local economy.

An economic growth survey indicated that the business makes a financial contribution to the economy of around £4 million.

Mr Knowles said the growth in the amount of visitors has been reflected in the increase of the amount of staff employed at the site.

"I think we all feel that we really do shine a light on the area and have the ability to bring visitors to the area," Mr Knowles said. "In the last year we've gone from 50 staff to 72 so the business is organically growing. The government and local councils want people to be inventive and to get the economy back on the road, and I think that's what we represent."

The plans also include an outdoor amphitheatre which will stage outdoor performances from the amateur dramatic society, Very Nice Productions, who are based on at the centre, as well as providing a home to the Shropshire Youth Support Trust.