THE REPAIR bill for an historic York building is expected to top £2.5million.

The Guildhall complex, in St Helen's Square, is in need of extensive restoration work and City of York Council has outlined plans they hope will save it for years to come.

Members on the authority's Corporate and Scrutiny Management Policy and Scrutiny Committee have been asked to consider a revised design scheme after officers revealed the landmark was in a poor condition.

Historic England told the authority it "could soon be considered at risk" if a use for the Grade 1 Listed building was not identified.

A report to the committee states: "The 2013 condition survey identified £2million of necessary works to bring the complex up to a satisfactory standard - of which £1million were priority works.

"With fees and inflation factors this equates to approximately £2.5million of works necessary to sustain the complex where this includes elements of new services, but no other alterations or improvements."

The worrying development has seen officers develop a plan to secure its future.

This includes:

*Providing a new cafe and space in the south range with toilets, storage and a glazed link courtyard.

*Building a new restaurant in the north annex with a riverside terrace, courtyard and more office space.

*Replacing all heating and electrical systems, fire and security alarms.

*Maintaining the facade and windows, and improving the Guildhall's under floor heating.

The Guildhall's future has been the subject of much discussion over recent years. In 2009, the authority's intention was to occupy some of the building and sell or lease the annexes to fund maintenance work.

And in 2013, the council chose to turn it into a £9 million digital media centre, but it failed to win £4million in lottery funding and was scrapped in May last year.

The team behind the new design plan took inspiration from buildings in London and Leeds before developing the project for the 15th Century building.

The committee will be asked to consider the plans on June 13 before they go in front of the Executive in July.