A £20 MILLION refurbishment of York Guildhall will begin in the spring after senior councillors gave the scheme the go-ahead.

But one resident said soaring costs meant the scheme was becoming “worse than HS2”. He called on the council to sell the historic building so it could be developed as a hotel.

The council’s executive heard that the building needs more repair work than expected as surveys revealed structural problems. Construction work is set to cost £16.5 million, with the total budget for the scheme at £20.2 million.

The plans include fixing the north annex tower, replacing the roofs and underpinning the building before it is redeveloped. The venue is due to be finished in autumn 2020 and will feature a new cafe, a riverside restaurant, office and business space.

Council officers said the site is currently costing the authority £125,000 a year to keep empty. And once it is refurbished it could create 250 jobs and bring in £117 million over the next five years.

But Cllr Mark Warters, speaking at a meeting on Thursday, criticised the cost of the redevelopment and said: “Put the Guildhall complex out on the private market through a historic hotel use with conference facilities, ensuring council use of the chamber.”

And resident Michael Hammill said: “It’s worse than HS2. Why is there no option to dispose of the buildings, with safeguards, to the private sector?”

Council leader Ian Gillies said all options for the site have been explored. He added: “It is an iconic building in the city centre. It’s owned by the city. We did discuss whether it should be sold and that was quickly discounted because this is a gem in the centre of the city.

“If you stand up in the offices of the Guildhall, you won’t find a better location in York to look out onto the city.

“It has frustrated me, there’s no two ways about that. But I think sometimes we’ve got to bite the bullet. It is expensive and we need to get on with it.”

Cllr Janet Looker said: “I do not share the public speakers’ views that it should be sent out to the private sector. I think there is a huge responsibility for the city as it was our building. We perhaps didn’t look after it as well as we should have done over the years, over many many administrations, and I think we owe it to the city to take count of our responsibilities and put it back into good order.

“It will be valued by many people for many generations.”

A report by council officers says extra repairs, inflation and an extended programme of work mean an extra £7.4 million is needed for the project. It adds: “There is no cost-neutral option for the future of the Guildhall. Decades of under-investment have left the building in a poor and disintegrating state of repair which must be remedied.

“The council, as custodian of this important heritage building, have a duty of care to address this decline.”