Controversial museum expansion given green light

Controversial plans to add a new central hall to the National Railway Museum in York have been approved after a knife-edge vote from members of the local planning committee.

The plan to join the museum’s two halves with a rotunda has attracted opposition from local residents because it will close Leeman Road, a direct route used by people to access the city centre.

Residents will be able to pass through the museum to reach the city centre but access will be limited to opening hours and could involve delays and bag searches. An alternative route around the museum is expected to add 400 metres to the journey.

The application was initially deferred for a month at a meeting in July to allow an equalities impact assessment to be carried out, after councillors raised concerns about accessibility for disabled residents.

But disability rights campaigner Flick Williams described the assessment as “a hastily completed desktop exercise” and specialist access consultant Helen Kane described it as having “serious failings”, according to Yorkshire Live.

The museum’s director, Judith McNicol, said the museum took “issues surrounding access and equality very seriously” and said that the museum had employed accessibility consultants when designing the building.