Strategy to be agreed for future of mayor's residence

A BLUEPRINT to promote the official residence of the Lord Mayor of York over the next decade is due to be agreed this week.

A business and development plan has been drawn up for the Mansion House in the centre of York to maintain the historic Georgian property throughout the next 10 years.

The strategy will market the 18th century building for conferences as well as a venue which can be hired out by the public for special occasions.

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Members of York Council's Mansion House and Mayoralty Advisory Group will meet on Wednesday when they are due to endorse the business plan.

York Council's democratic services manager, Dawn Steel, said: "(The business plan) can help to keep the history of the building and its place in the civic pride of the city alive and relevant today."

The Yorkshire Post revealed in November 2009 that an advisory group was being established to oversee the Mansion House, more than a decade after a previous body to raise the property's profile was disbanded.

A security review has been carried out and more closed circuit television cameras installed to ensure adequate protection for the extensive collection of silver, antique furniture and paintings in the building.

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The Mansion House, which is on St Helen's Square in the city centre, is built in an early Georgian style. The foundation stone was laid in 1725, and the building was finished seven years later.

It was restored in 1998 by York Civic Trust. The office of the Lord Mayor in York is the second oldest in the country after London.

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