Privately-run museums in the York area have branded as "disappointing" long-awaited plans to reform rate relief.

The museums say they could even lead to some non-York visitors being turned away so museums qualify for the higher levels of rates relief.

Objections by museums and sports clubs faced with cuts to rate relief led to a rethink in the criteria by City of York Council.

Some museum bosses felt that their future was in jeopardy if they did not receive reduced rates.

Under the revised proposals, one of the criteria for museums in York to qualify for maximum discretionary rate relief is that at least 90 percent of visitors should be residents of the city.

James Stephenson, chairman of the council of the Yorkshire Farming Museum at Murton, near York, said: "Does this mean that we will have to post security guards on our gates to turn away visitors who are not York residents?

"The real problem for any non-municipal museum in York is that they are open to all-comers because York is a tourist centre.

"We demand so little, but here we are being penalised by our own council. This has thrown us a lifeline, but only a very slender one."

Coun Bob Scrase, chairman of the council's leisure services committee, said that museums were automatically entitled to 80 percent rate relief, and that the discretionary relief only applied to the remaining 20 per cent. He added that grants and other forms of support were available for museums in need of further funding.

Revisions to rates relief policy will be under discussion by the city's leisure services committee on Thursday.

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