New Roman Museum Planned For York
Plans have been approved for a major new development in York city centre, including a new museum dedicated to the area’s Roman heritage. Insider Media reports that the proposals for the mixed-use project were initially rejected by the City of York planning council, but have now been accepted after a comprehensive redesign.
The new development will be situated in the Rougier Street area of the Roman Quarter of the city centre, and will include commercial and residential space, as well as a major new visitor attraction known as Eboracum.
The scheme is being managed by the joint partnership of Rougier Street Developments who own the site, and York Archaeological Trust. The original plans, by architects Vincent & Brown, were strongly criticised by the City Council and the Council for British Archaeology (CBA), as Yorkshire Live reported earlier this year.
The revised plans still include a heritage centre which will be twice the size of the Jorvik Viking Centre. A two year-archaeological dig will run alongside the scheme, providing educational opportunities for schoolchildren and livestreaming worldwide. It is predicted that the scheme will generate an extra £315m over 30 years for the local economy.
The scheme will also include the construction of 153 residential apartments and an hotel, plus 25,000 sq ft of office space, which will be run to the latest standards of sustainability. A further 625 jobs are expected to be created by the development.
After being fully revised by the architects from the original plans submitted in February, the council have now approved the proposals, subject to conditions.
The report said: “The proposal has been revised significantly since the previous scheme and now represents a more sensitive response to its context. It is still however a large building within the historic city and as such will necessarily impact on its surroundings.”
It continued: “As a result, harm has been identified to the conservation area and the setting of a number of listed buildings. The harm resulting from the scheme is considered to substantial however substantial economic, social and environmental benefits have been identified.”
“These benefits relate to the significant economic benefits of the visitor attraction, public engagement and educational benefits of the archaeological dig, provision of housing, modern energy efficient building and public realm enhancements.”
Eboracum was the original Roman name for the city of York, when it was founded in around AD 71. It is believed that Roman soldiers arrived in the area from a base at Lincoln, and established a camp, some 25 years after they first settled in the South of England.
York had some obvious advantages for a military base, being at the meeting point of the rivers Ouse and Foss, which allowed for the transport of goods and people from the North Sea. The route to York, along what today is the A64, sits on a defined ridge which made access easier.
The city is also slightly elevated from the surrounding plateau, which made it easier to defend from the Celtic tribes who still occupied the North of England.
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