THE Mansion House in York could soon open its doors to the public more often after a plea by the city's Civic Trust.

In its annual report, the York Civic Trust said the house - the historic residence of the Lord Mayor of York - was too important a building not to be enjoyed by all.

City of York Council said it was currently improving disabled access to the building and was working with the Trust to increase its number of public open days, although staffing and other issues had to be addressed.

In 1999, the Trust spent £300,000 on a painstaking restoration of the house on the understanding that the house would be open to the public.

Early suggestions were that this could be for two days a week, but it has so far been restricted to twice a year. The next open day will take place on January 26.

The Civic Trust report says: "We felt that this major jewel in York's crown should be accessible on some sort of regular basis. The Trust felt, and still feels, that this is too important a building to be known only to a few. The city should be proud to show it off. We have offered to provide the expertise needed to present the house to the public, and even arrange for a full-colour guide to be produced."

Elizabeth Ellis, the council's head of electoral and civic services, said, "We welcome the Civic Trust's views on this issue and we could not agree more. The house should and will be opened up more to the public and to this end the council has already agreed to install a new lift which will make the house accessible to everyone not just those without disabilities."

Updated: 12:09 Monday, December 03, 2001