FIRST plans to create the new £5m Wonderlab at the National Railway Museum have gone before city planners.

Under the Wonderlab project, a new gallery will be created within the North Shed at the Leeman Road museum. The shed is currently used as an engineering workshop.

The new gallery will be aimed at visitors aged from seven to 14 and will contain a number of interactive exhibits that focus on the inventiveness and ingenuity of railway engineering.

It forms part of the museum's Vision 2025 programme under which the entire museum will undergo a redesign.

The creation of the new Wonderlab gallery involves mostly internal works - to remove engineering equipment, remodel the layout of the interior and build new exhibits.

In creating the new gallery, some changes to the North Shed are necessary - and a planning application has been submitted outlining these alterations.

According to the Design and Access statement submitted to planners, the area covers some 912 sq m of land along the southern elevation of the North Shed and its service yard.

The building is attached to the Great Hall, but slightly set back from the road. It is used for the maintenance of vehicles in the NRM collection with designated zones for heavy engineering, fabrication, welding and woodwork.

The statement reads: "The proposed development involves external alterations to the southern elevation of the North Shed.

"The changes are led by the re-purposing of the building to provide additional gallery space within a new 'Wonderlab' and the associated re-arrangement of the internal layout of the building."

This will involve the removal of the yellow loading crane where it projects into the service yard - although the crane will be retained internally.

The double-height folding doors will also be removed, and the upper storey will be infilled with metal cladding. A new viewing window will be created at ground level.

External grills will be installed for the mechanical ventilation of the gallery space and a new doorway and windows will replace the original double doors.

The statement concludes: "The proposed external works are not considered to have an adverse impact on the appearance of the North Shed. They will facilitate the creation of a new gallery space within the building as part of the wider masterplan for the estate."

It says a goal of the new Wonderlab is to "inspire a generation of engineers, scientists, inventors and innovators to solve the problems of the future."

You can read the full planning application online. The reference is 21/02484/FUL - and here is the link: //planningaccess.york.gov.uk

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