PLANS for a historic building in the centre of York to become a hub for the arts are set to be approved.

City of York Council planners are expected to give the go-ahead for a scheme to turn the De Grey Rooms into a site for theatre workshops when they meet next week.

The scheme would allow more of York Theatre Royal’s operation to be housed within the Grade II-listed building, which is owned by York Conservation Trust, and include a costume-making section and a space for outfits to be hired and stored there. The proposals would also bring the De Grey Rooms into line with disability legislation, creating a mezzanine floor in the Oak Room and removing a suspended ceiling in the ballroom to put one of the building’s original features, a glazed lantern, on display.

The application for the alterations to be carried out, made after tourism body Visit York moved out of the De Grey Rooms to new premises nearby earlier this year, has been recommended for approval.

In a report to the meeting, planning officer Fiona Mackay said: “The long-term future of this nationally important building has been uncertain for a number of years.

“The measures proposed would greatly enhance the flexibility and usefulness of the building. The magnificent interiors of the major spaces would be unaffected by the proposals and they would be available for public use as originally intended.” Measures to make access to the building easier for disabled visitors would involve installing a wheelchair lift and a stair-climber mechanism, while the scheme also involves refurbishing chandeliers and providing a new route to the balcony in the ballroom.