The site of a listed mill near Coalville is set to be given a makeover, which will see it gain a "quality museum and associated facilities" for visitors.

North West Leicestershire District Council has given Swannington Heritage Trust permission to extend the Neverson Centre, an existing building which is used as a museum, workshop and visitor centre for the old mill.

The Neverson Centre is described as a "fantastic building" by the trust, but it said it did not feel it was "sufficient as either a workshop or a museum" at present.

Now, the trust plans to extend the building so it "provides a single, disabled accessible toilet and a further small museum display area".

The old mill was first opened to the public by the trust in April 2000, after it was refurbished from a ruined state with help from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. The demolition of an existing on-site building also features in the trust's plan.

It will be replaced with an "insulated metal clad shed type building" which will be used as a workshop and storage, and contain visitor toilets and a volunteer meeting area.

Due to limited funds, the trust said the new building was the "most practical and affordable option" for the site.

It added that the need for a new storage space at the site was "urgent".

Hough Mill is Grade II-listed by Historic England, which means it is of "special interest" and efforts must be made to preserve it and its setting.

But the trust said it believed the new building would help improve the site, as it would be "minimally visible on the approach" to the mill, and said the new facility was "necessary".

The scheme was approved by district council planning officials last Thursday. In their decision notice, planners said the development was "acceptable" and did not have any "detrimental design, residential amenity, or highway impacts". The trust now has three years to complete the scheme. The mill is open to the public free of charge every Sunday from April until the end of September, between 2pm and 5pm.