Furnace Kitchen bids to land Building Control award
A restaurant in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site that has already won awards has been shortlisted for the final of the Local Authority Building Control Awards.
The Furnace Kitchen – run by celebrity chef Marcus Bean ¬¬- is bidding to win two categories – best change of use of an existing building and best commercial project
The project has transformed a once redundant area of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum into a thriving destination restaurant.
It has already won a Business Environmental Support Scheme award and the Worcester Society of Chartered Architects People’s Choice Award.
The kitchen serves takeaway cakes, coffees and savoury snacks and has taken over an unused undercroft beneath the archives of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Coalbrookdale.
The submission to the Local Authority Building Control Awards was made by Osborne Architects who oversaw the project.
Councillor David Wright, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Economy, Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, said: “I am very pleased that a thriving local business like the Furnace Kitchen has made the shortlist of the prestigious Local Authority Building Control Awards.
“I look forward to hearing the outcome of the award when it is announced on September 10 and I will keep my fingers crossed that they are successful.”
Councillor Carolyn Healy, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for the Visitor Economy and the Historic and Natural Environment, said: “The Furnace Kitchen is located in a highly sensitive area in terms of conservation.
“The proposals for the works went through a year long process of planning and Listed Building consent to ensure that the design and its impact both on the built environment and local ecology could be approved.
“Let’s hope it wins one of the awards!”
Caption from left: Councillor Carolyn Healy, Councillor David Wright, Ian Edwards of Osborne Architects, council Building Control Manager Joe Strafford and Eve Snowdon of The Furnace Kitchen.
