The planned expansion of York’s National Railway Museum could be in jeopardy without a £15m cash injection from the Government, the city council leader and mayor have warned.
Labour’s York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith and York Council Leader Coun Claire Douglas have called on Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to step in with extra funding.
Coun Douglas said the project was vital to the museum’s future and Mr Skaith said the expansion formed a key part of the wider York Central regeneration scheme.
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministry and the National Railway Museum have been contacted for comment.
The call comes as part of ongoing talks with the Government to get funding for the museum’s masterplan which includes the construction of a new Central Hall.
Work on the building, which is set to sit at the heart of the remodelled museum site and feature a new gallery, is due to start this year.
It would be finished in 2027 if funding can be secured and the museum hopes it could help attract 1.3m visitors a year.
The redevelopment also includes Museum Square at the centre of York Central where thousands of homes, business and office space is being built on one of England’s largest brownfield sites.
But in their letter to the deputy prime minister, Mr Skaith and Coun Douglas said the museum expansion may not go ahead unless the Government steps in with extra funding.
Mr Skaith said the Government needed to step in to unlock the opportunity for long-term growth and prosperity offered by the project.
The mayor said:
“The National Railway Museum is the jewel in the crown of Yorkshire museums.
“This funding is essential both to the museum and the York Central development.
“The York Central designs put NRM at the heart of the development, centred around Museum Square.
“It is an essential part of delivering more than 3,000 new homes, 40 per cent of which will be affordable and social rent, contributing to more than 6,000 new jobs and up to £1.6bn in economic value to the region.”
Coun Douglas said the funding would ensure the museum could continue to build on its international reputation and support the growth of York’s visitor economy.
The council leader said:
“We want to see funding from the Government confirmed to allow the National Railway Museum to get on with delivering its masterplan.
“This is a nationally significant project and a key part of the regeneration of the York Central site.
“It’s vital to the National Railway Museum’s future that it can modernise the visitor experience and attract millions more people through its doors in the years ahead, cementing its status as one of the most visited attractions in the north of England.”
The mayor and council leader are set to meet with Local Growth Minister Alex Norris to discuss the future of the scheme.
The National Railway Museum’s website stated that Central Hall would unify the site like never before, with a design harking back to locomotive roundhouses.
Its gallery is set to highlight sustainable technologies and the way the railways have impacted on people’s lives.
Station Hall, which exhibits royal carriages along with other historic engines and rolling stock, is currently closed for redevelopment and is set to reopen in September.
The museum’s Great Hall is also set to have its layout changed as part of its masterplan for redevelopment.
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