Plans have been approved for a new education and exhibition centre at the final resting place of soldiers who lost their lives during the two world wars.

The former caretaker’s accommodation at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery forms part of the site’s Grade II-listed building and has been vacant for several years.

Plans to convert the building include an extension and a replacement roof covering, after copper thieves targeted the building in 2022.

The planning officers’ report said the proposal would bring that section of the listed building back into use.

The 25-square-metre single-storey extension will have a flat-roof and be clad in a steel that appears similar to the stolen copper.

The building is currently in a poor condition and suffers from damp after the theft and vandalism left the property open to the elements.

A Stafford resident, who wrote to the council in support of the proposals, said: “It has been sad to see the deterioration of the buildings in recent years and I welcome the revitalisation and new education and interpretation uses.

“The refurbishment should return the buildings to a condition of which the council and the War Graves Commission can be proud and visitors from the UK and abroad can be fittingly welcomed.”

The site, which contains the graves of almost 5,000 German and Austrian nationals, is the largest concentration of German military interments in the country.

The report said: “Subject to conditions, the alterations would maintain the quality and significance of the building and maintain the site’s level of tranquillity.”