North Lanarkshire Council has published details of a project to expand an industrial museum in Coatbridge.

A planning application concerning Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life proposes the addition of new cottages, a garage, a community venue as well as modifications to the existing museum and its grounds.

The council is aiming to increase the range of exhibits and experiences available at the museum, and this includes expanding one of its most popular features, the miner’s village, creating a more immersive environment reflecting the life of industrial communities across different time periods.

The expansion is also intended to improve travel links between the museum and Coatbridge town centre, with a new southern entrance to be created via the existing underpass and gate, which will also see increased use of existing footpaths within the museum grounds.

Expansion of the mining village would create a streetscape inspired by historic miners’ rows, with the new building representing multiple periods, while the new Miner’s Welfare hall would be suitable for multiple purposes all year round including exhibitions and events and educational activities.

The existing Ironworks Building would also receive some upgrades, mainly in the form of new windows and doors, to improve energy efficiency and durability without making major changes which would affect its character.

A “learning landscape” is planned for the southern part of the site, which would form a main pedestrian route from the town centre. This would be designed to make navigating the site easier for visitors while also providing new seating, lighting and ecological improvements.

Formerly one of the biggest ironworks in Scotland, at its peak Summerlee employed thousands of people but eventually closed during the Depression era of the 1930s.

In the 1980s the indiustrial site was taken over by Summerlee Heritage Trust, which worked on cleaning up the land and canal, with the current first opening to the public in 1988 and becoming part of North Lanarkshire Council’s museum service the following decade.

A muIti-million renovation project resulted in the reopening of the museum as in 2008 and it attracts around 180,000 visitors every year.

A supporting document submitted alongside the planning application notes “Summerlee is a much-valued local heritage asset with potential to become a world-class, immersive visitor attraction that retakes its place at the heart ofCoatbridge.”