COURT bosses have withdrawn their objection to plans for a pop-up Shakespearean theatre in York.

Property advisors for the Ministry of Justice have changed their mind over the plans for a 950 seater temporary theatre close to York Crown Court, and have now told city planners they no longer object to the scheme.

Lunchbox Productions wants to build a temporary Restoration-style theatre on half of Castle car park in York next summer - running for three months with productions of Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard III.

Last month The Press revealed that GVA - the Ministry of Justice’s property advisors - had written to planners with a number of concerns.

They were unhappy about plans to bring construction traffic off Tower Street past the court building, saying the court needed unimpeded access for prison vans bringing people in for hearings.

They also raised concerns about noise from the theatre, and during the construction period.

Planning documents now show that Lunchbox bosses have written to GVA to address those concerns.

A letter from the company’s head of business and operations Paul Mansfield says: “I’m unsure if you’ve examined the structural specifications closely but this is a scaffolding structure, that will sit on top of the car park itself. This means that there is no drilling, foundation laying, cement mixing or any other ‘heavy construction’.”

It also says the access worries are “unfounded”, as lorries will go straight onto the car park and will not block the court’s access road, and the theatre would have to get fresh planning permission if it wanted to come back in future years.

A new letter from GVA now shows the advisors are happy with the plan - if it can be confirmed the project is only for 2018, vehicles will not be parked on the access road, and there will be no noise disturbing the smooth running of the court.

The scheme has already got the backing of city councillors who have agreed to give Lunchbox temporary use of half of the car park, but it still needs planning permission.

Historic England experts have said they support the plan in principle, but want to see it altered slightly so the structures sit nearer the Foss and further away from Clifford’s Tower.