Controversial plans for a new Roman Quarter in York should go ahead as it will provide a “once if a lifetime” opportunity to examine a city centre archaeological site, council planners have said.

Heritage experts are divided over the proposal to create a new, underground Roman museum along with an 88-room aparthotel, 153 new apartments and new office space in Rougier Street.

But council officers have recommended that the scheme is approved because the harm to archaeological deposits expected to result from the build, and to the wider conservation area, is outweighed by “substantial public benefits”.

It would see the demolition of Northern House, Rougier House and Society Bar, with the dig area taking up around 30 per cent of the site.

The application, by Rougier Street Developments and York Archaeological Trust (YAT), builds on one that was rejected by councillors in early 2021.

The building was criticised as being “monolithic” by councillors, but officers have said the new design, which separates the development into two forms set on a two-storey plinth, is an improvement.

The council’s conservation officer has disagreed, due to the scale of the building and its impact on the conservation area.

“The effects of this harm will be long lasting, if not permanent,” they said.

The site lies at the junction of a Roman road and the deposits beneath it are likely to be of national significance. The dig would take place over two years, with findings displayed in the museum, Eboracum – the Roman name for York.

But the Council for British Archaeology has objected.

York Press:

They have said that the “rationale behind the archaeological proposals and the scale of development necessary to deliver the scheme is both flawed and fundamentally harmful” and that the “claimed public benefits are used to justify a building which represents an over-development of the site.”

Historic England has called it “confused and contradictory”.

The council’s report acknowledges that “the loss of significant Roman and later waterlogged archaeological deposits amounts to substantial harm”.

Just six of the 51 representations made to the council are in objection, however.

The attraction itself is anticipated to bring around 500,000 visitors to the city once it is opened, creating 50 new jobs and boosting the visitor economy by approximately £21m.

Yet there is no room for any affordable housing. The council’s independent assessment backed up the developer’s claims that the scheme would not be viable if they had to pay for affordable housing.

Council officers have said the decision – which will be made by councillors on Thursday, September 8 – is “finely balanced.”

They added: “Substantial public benefits have been identified including the economic benefits of the development, principally those associated with the visitor attraction and associated gains to the visitor economy; significant social benefits associated with the archaeological dig in terms of public engagement and well-being benefits, and the provision of housing; and environmental benefits from the public realm enhancements.”