A new theatre, cinema and hotel could be built as part of a £29.7m redevelopment of the award-winning Beamish Museum, it has emerged.

Consultants have drawn up an ambitious five year blueprint aimed at boosting visitor numbers to the North-East heritage museum site, as well as creating 380 new jobs.

Around 320,000 people visit per year at the moment, but the new plan, "The Prospect of Beamish", is aimed at increasing the annual attendance consistently to around the half-a-million-mark.

New facilities suggested by London-based specialists Prince Research Consultants (PRC) include an enlarged reception/visitor centre, a new interactive area, further exhibition space, and an expansion of the Town Street site with a theatre, cinema and restaurant, plus a 'warts-and-all' slum area, all set in the year 1913.

Further new features for the 300-acre site, near Stanley in north-west Durham, include 'Beamish Wild' interpretive centre, which with 'Hands-On' Beamish, would add fun to the educational and learning experience at the museum.

A supplementary transport service would also be introduced at peak times on top of the existing tramways, with the addition of "Green Way" walking routes through the site.

Other proposals include an on-site hotel, with up to 300-bed spaces, alongside the expanded car park capable of taking up to 2,000 cars and 50 coaches.

Cash could come from the EU, the Heritage Lottery Fund, plus central and local government.

The consultants aim to build on what Beamish has done well over its 30-plus year history, giving a snapshot interpretation of the region as it was in the 1820s and in 1913.

PRC said Beamish's 'mission' is: "To present, in a dynamic museum, the social history of the people of the North-East of England, and to ensure that visitors are engaged, informed, entertained, educated and become our best advocate".

Museum director Miriam Harte said: "Like any major project of this nature there's a lot of work to go into this to look at the feasibility of the various elements."

A detailed feasibility study will be carried out before the governing committee decide to act on any of the recommendations.