York Museum Gardens to get facelift?

Lovers of gardens will be waiting with baited breath as the City of York Council ponders whether to agree to proposals to grant a lease to The Lendal Tower Venture, which hopes to develop Yorks Museum Gardens.

The development company, part of the Helmsley Group Syndicate, have asked for a 169 year lease and intend to build a restaurant with outdoor terrace overlooking the gardens and river.

"The development has been given planning permission and will incorporate a new entrance to the Museum Gardens, including a separate ramped access from The Esplanade, new facilities for leisure boat users and a alternative access to the restaurant through the city walls from Museum Street," reports ThePress.co.uk.

The botanic gardens cover ten acres of the former grounds of St Marys Abbey and date back to the 1830s.

Designed by Sir John Murray Naysmith, they contain a variety of plants and trees and host numerous events including open-air theatre.