The centre features a colliery village and working mine

The Beamish museum, which already brings in more than 300,000 visitors a year, recreates Victorian life.

The development will include a 300-bedroom hotel, a new visitor centre and restaurant, a wildlife area and cinema.

Consultants have said the development could put an extra �15m a year into the local economy.

Historic setting

The expansion plans are designed to bring an extra 200,000 people a year to Beamish.

Popular features, including the coal mine and colliery village, and the manor house, will be improved.

Beamish Director Miriam Harte said the plan to make the museum a "two-day experience" was not a new concept.

She said: "We have no intention to alter the museum but to deepen and broaden the experience and the idea of the hotel is to make Beamish a destination, and this is a tried and tested idea if you look at some of the museums in the USA.

"Already, one day is not long enough, and I have people who write to say: 'Why can't we have two-day tickets', so we think it is possible to create a two-day experience and use Beamish as a starting point for visiting the whole region."

The plans are for the hotel to be situated on the edge of the museum site, giving more flexibility over design.