AMBITIOUS plans for one of the region’s most iconic sites are expected to win approval next week.

English Heritage’s plans for Clifford’s Tower in York have divided opinion, but the proposals for a new visitor centre and an internal overhaul are likely to get the go-ahead.

The final plans were revealed in the summer, after English Heritage ran public consultations on its initial ideas, then altered their plans after they heard feedback from people in the city.

The scheme is now made up of a new visitor centre to be built into the base of the motte, facing the Eye of York and with a viewing platform on its roof.

There would also be new walkways and stairwells inside the tower working their way up to a bigger viewing platform looking over the city.

Experts behind the plans say the new building had to “tread a fine line” and be of high quality design, but not compete with the historic tower, museum or court buildings nearby.

But they have faced criticism from many including some conservation and heritage experts, who do not agree with their plans.

The city centre’s Guildhall planning panel warning that the visitor centre “looks like a public toilet, and will be used as one”.

York Civic Trust have backed English Heritage’s ambitions to improve the facilities at Clifford’s Tower – but is objecting to the visitor centre plan which it says will damage character of the important listed buildings nearby, and the wider conservation area.

Both the York Georgian Society and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings have asked the council to block all the plans – which they say will be intrusive, out of scale, and will ruin the character of both the castle ruin and the nearby Georgian court buildings.

But the plans have got the backing of Historic England, who say the internal plans are “imaginative and innovative”, and admit that although excavating the motte to construct the new visitor centre will damage some archaeological deposits, that damage will be offset by the better access for everyone offered by the new facilities.

However, local planning officers say the plans “have the potential to greatly enhance the visitor experience to the Tower”, and that damage to the heritage site would be minor and outweighed by the benefits the new facilities will bring.

The decision will be made when the planning committee meets next Thursday.