THE Dudley Museum and Art Gallery building will be brought back into use as part of a joint refurbishment with Dudley Town Hall.

The St James Road building will used as offices and training facilities under plans drawn up by council chiefs, to the cost of £850,000.

The re-opening of the building will be put in place alongside a £650,000 improvement to the bar and catering facilities at Dudley Town Hall.

Council chiefs have stated that the refurbishment of the bar will lead to a rise in takings of £50,000 in the first year and rise of £100,000 and £200,000 in the following years.

The decision to spend £650,000 refurbishing the bar provoked criticism from opposition councillors at a meeting of full council on February 18.

Cllr Keasey labelled the bar plans 'an obscene amount of money' and questioned whether the money would be better spent on youth centres or libraries, while leader of the opposition Cllr Patrick Harley called it a 'rushed decision' and said there was lack of a detailed business plan.

Leader of the council Cllr Qada Zada defended the plan, explaining that the bar will open for the public and labelled the Conservative opposition as 'insincere'.

Dudley Council's Capital Programme Monitoring Report states: "A capital project has been developed to refurbish the former Museum building at a cost of £850,000 and create an improved bar and catering facility at Dudley Town Hall at a cost of £650,000. "The project will ensure that the former Museum building is brought back into use as office/training facilities and will allow the Town Hall to maximise income from bar and catering, something that we currently cannot do. The catering facility at the Town Hall will also be used to provide catering for delegates attending training at the former Museum building."

Outlining how the project will be funded, the report reads: "The total cost of £1,500,000 can be funded from £150,000 of Transformation reserves and £1,350,000 from disposal of assets no longer required, including those freed up by relocating training facilities to the former Museum site."

Council chiefs have stated that the refurbishment of the bar will lead to a rise in takings of £50,000 in the first year and rise of £100,000 and £200,000 in the following years.

The closure of the museum by the council in 2016 was seen by many as a controversial decision, with thousands of people signing a petition opposing the plans. The museum's displays and collections were moved to the Archives on Tipton Road.