The Coors Visitor Centre in Burton upon Trent is due to close in June 2008. © Coors Brewers Ltd

A local MP is spearheading moves to try and save the museum at the Coors Visitor Centre (CVC) in Burton upon Trent after the company that owns and runs it, US-owned Coors Brewers Limited, announced on Monday that it will close in June 2008.

Formerly known as the Bass Museum, the centre charts the long and rich history of brewing in Burton, but has been costing Coors £1m a year to run, which they say cannot be sustained.

Now local Burton Labour MP Janet Dean is championing plans to find an alternative way of running the museum and has already contacted the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to discuss the future of the museum with them.

“I would like to bring together all those who can help to find a way forward for the museum,” she said, “including the MLA, Staffordshire County Council, East Staffordshire Borough Council, Coors and the rest of the Brewing Industry as well as CAMRA.”

“Ideally, it would be great to have the National Brewing Museum in Burton but above all, it is vital that Burton’s heritage is protected.”

The CVC contains many important artefacts of brewerania, telling the long and distinguished story of brewing in Burton upon Trent.

As well as a traditional cooperage, the museum has a collection of vintage vehicles, a working stationary steam engine and the Museum Micro Brewery, where the ancient art of brewing is explained. There are also three popular shire horses, Carling, Reef and White Shield, who will now also have to be re-homed when museum closes.

Traditional shire horses are an integral part of the museum's living heritage attraction. © Coors Brewers Ltd

Coors say they have tried everything to make the CVC viable, including a revamp last year and free entry to Burton residents, but visitor numbers have continued to fall.

“It’s costing us over a million pounds a year and we cannot continue funding that,” explained Paul Hegarty, Head of Communications at Coors. “But we’d like to continue to do everything that we can to facilitate someone else being able to do it.”

“When something is run as a public trust or charity that gives access to sources of income that wouldn’t be open to us a private company,”

If that doesn’t happen, Coors say they have already looked very closely at what will happen to valuable artefacts at the museum, some of which are owned by Britivic and other organisations.

“We have spoken to the CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale) who are very interested as well as the Staffordshire Archives,” added Paul, “so we have done a lot of thinking already about finding good homes for all of these artefacts.”

However, if Burton’s MP Janet Dean can galvanise the necessary interested parties, a plan may yet emerge that will save a valuable piece of UK’s and Burton’s brewing heritage.