YORK is set to get a new Roman visitor attraction to rival the Jorvik centre as part of a £150 million scheme to redevelop a city centre street.

Proposals have been unveiled to demolish three buildings in Rougier Street and replace them with a museum, a 145-bed hotel, 228 apartments, offices and new cafes, shops and restaurants.

There are also plans by York Archaeological Trust for a “once in a generation” dig on the site of the proposed Roman attraction - similar to the one it staged in Coppergate in the 1970s prior to its creation of the Jorvik Viking Centre.

York-based developers North Star, in partnership with the trust and hotel operators Native, are behind the ‘Roman Quarter’ proposals.

A spokesman said the project would add to the ‘renaissance’ of the area and the 33,000 sq ft Roman attraction would be double the size of the Jorvik Viking Centre.

Early predictions are that it would receive about half a million visitors per year and add £20

million to York’s economy.

The spokesman said: “With artefacts expected to date from 2,000 years ago, and trial pits revealing the potential for major discoveries, significant Roman finds will be displayed in the new basement visitor attraction.

“The once-in-a-generation dig itself will have significant public benefit, creating excitement and engagement amongst York residents and visitors alike, as the layers of history are peeled back, and the public will be invited to share in the excitement as items are unearthed."