GLASS museum campaigners were celebrating today (Thursday) after securing a £142,000 boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards their bid to create a brand new tourist attraction in Wordsley.

After stumping up £14,000 of their own funds - the British Glass Foundation, which has been working with Complex Developments Ltd to create a new £5.5million world class glass museum on the old Stuart Crystal glassworks site, has been awarded a development phase grant to cover the project management, design development and business plan aspects of the scheme.

Once the development phase is complete - the BGF will be able to bid for a further £780,000 to help fund the interior fit out of the skeleton building, which is already under construction.

Graham Knowles, chairman BGF, said: "This is wonderful news and helps us enormously in our aim to provide a new home for the internationally renowned Stourbridge glass collection.

"I would like to thank everyone for their support but I am particularly grateful for the on-going backing we have received from our partners at Dudley Council, which has been absolutely crucial in helping secure this bid.

"Dudley Council remains a key player in our plans and we look forward to our continuing mutual collaboration. HLF funding is the icing on the cake in giving the new facility the ‘wow’ factor that will encourage people to come through the doors and celebrate our unique glass heritage."

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, Dudley's cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: "We’re delighted to hear the HLF bid has been successful and we now look forward to working with the British Glass Foundation on providing a world-class museum that the borough and its residents can be proud of.

"This new museum will be in the heart of the glass-making area and will bring in people from all over the world to share in our proud past."

Jane Alexander, JLA Consulting which worked with the BGF and Dudley Council to help secure the funding, said she was "absolutely delighted" to have assisted with the next phase of transforming the historic site in Camp Hill which, as well as providing a new home for the borough's glass collection, will include offices for new business start ups, a courtyard area and 18 one and two-bedroom loft apartments.

As part of the development, the listed former glassworks are being sympathetically restored and the scheme will preserve the remains of the old White House Glass Cone, which is classed as an ancient monument.

A canal-side restaurant/cafe was originally earmarked for inclusion but has had to be dropped due to space and funding restrictions associated with the recent £2.13million grant from the European Regional Development Fund which is helping to fund the building work.

The borough's glass treasures have been housed at Broadfield House Glass Museum in Kingswinford for the last 35 years but - due to council cost-cutting measures - the world famous facility in Compton Drive closed its doors for good on Wednesday September 30.