THE Black Country Living Museum has received the final green light to begin a new development project worth £23 million, including the building of a new town.

The development, 'BCLM: Forging Ahead', will see Black Country life from the 1940's to the 1960's painstakingly recreated, including a traditional pub re-built brick by brick.

The project has been given the final go-ahead thanks to confirmation of £9.4m of funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund, alongside existing funding from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and Arts Council England.

Woodside Library will be re-located and much-loved Dudley record shop Stanton's Records will be recreated using photos and archive material.

Replicas will also be built of Burgin’s Newsagents, formerly on Wolverhampton Street in Dudley; Lye's Marsh and Baxter’s Pork Butchers and the Halesowen & Hasbury Co-op previously on Stourbridge Road.

'BCLM: Forging Ahead' will also see a brand new visitor centre, introductory exhibition, café and shop built alongside the new town, along with a learning centre.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Whilst the Forging Ahead project will recreate and translocate a number of buildings of historical significance to the Black Country, heritage is not just about bricks and mortar, but the stories that are created within them. We are delighted that National Lottery funding will not only preserve these fascinating buildings, such as the Gas Showroom, the Elephant & Castle pub and the Library, but also the memories that they hold, and ensure that they will not be lost but shared and built upon by future generations.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, added: “BCLM: Forging Ahead highlights the Museum’s ambition to create a real jewel in the crown in the Black Country. Once complete, this project will create opportunities for new jobs, volunteering and skills development during what is an economic renaissance for the region. The Black Country has an incredibly rich heritage and it is great the Museum portrays it so well.”

Lowell Williams, chair of the museum, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to secure this funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and would very much like to thank National Lottery players for making such support possible. After an 18 month development phase in which we have honed and refined our plans, we are confident that this project is the best it can be and we’re excited to actually get started on it this summer.”

Ninder Johal, Board Member of the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “This project will play a major role in the regeneration of Dudley - strengthening the visitor economy, creating circa 143 jobs within our local area and raising the profile of the region as a place to live, work, learn, visit and invest.”

Work on 'BCLM: Forging Ahead' will begin this summer and is expected to be completed in 2022.