A MAJOR overhaul of the city's Royal Museum is set to start within 18 months after city planning chiefs approved renovations.
The main entrance hall to the Chambers Street museum and surrounding exhibition spaces will close for up to three years for the £46 million revamp.
Councillors are expected to give the programme the go-ahead on Wednesday after planning officials
gave it their backing.
The final plans for the project will see the creation of a new entrance hall and lifts, as well as internal renovations to the Victorian building.
New exhibition spaces have also been included as part of the scheme, which will double the number of exhibits on display and allow the museum to host international-class exhibitions once the work is completed in 2011.
Among the plans are a mini-planetarium and exhibits suspended from the ceiling, as well as a drive to encourage people to visit the often-bypassed upper floors by providing new stairs and lifts.
The project is at the heart of a 15-year National Museums of Scotland revamp of the Chambers Street building, under plans by city firm Gareth Hopkins Architects.
Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of the National Museums of Scotland, said he hoped the council would look favourably on the project, one of the largest museum refurbishments seen in the UK.
He said: "We have briefed the planning committee, and worked closely with Historic Scotland to ensure that the changes we propose are in keeping with the status of a Grade A listed building.
"We hope for a positive outcome from the planning committee meeting which will support our second-stage application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, on January 23 next year. Once we receive confirmation of support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, work will begin at the National Museums Collections Centre at Granton in the New Year, and at the National Museum of Scotland in August.
"The whole museum will remain open to visitors until work commences in May 2008. Thereafter, the Museum of Scotland building and the west wing of the Royal Museum building, including the Connect and Communicate galleries, will remain open to the public."
In a report to councillors, city planning leader Alan Henderson said that the proposals would be sympathetic to the listed building and would "enhance the visitor experience of this important cultural attraction".
He added: "The proposals will have some impact on the character of the listed building, but this will be minimised and the proposals will significantly enhance access and circulation to the building."
The plans also include the controversial removal of the museum's famous goldfish ponds, which sparked outcry among visitors earlier this year when the move was first proposed.
Visitors claimed the fish, which have lived in the entrance hall for more than 30 years, were the first port of call for youngsters when visiting the historic attraction.
The ponds, which occupy most of the main hall's floor space, will be axed in a bid to create more room for corporate functions and new exhibits, including an ancient reindeer skeleton.
But the museum has not ruled out the possibility the fish could be re-homed elsewhere in the building as work is completed.
