FIVE teams have been chosen to create design concepts for a new £16.5 million Central Hall at the National Railway Museum.

Seventy-six teams from 19 countries entered the two-stage competition, including York Collaborative Futures - a consortium of architects and designers from the city.

However, the York group failed to make the shortlist which has been announced by the NRM and Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC). Successful teams came from Belgium, France, Ireland and the UK.

The competition is to design the new Central Hall, which forms part of the museum’s strategy to become the World’s Railway Museum by 2025.

Mark Druery, director of PPIY Architects, which led the York bid, said they had been excited about the prospect of being involved in the regeneration project, “as locally-based talent who know York, and live and breath it”.

“We thought that in joining forces, as a collaborative team, we stood a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with bigger names nationally and internationally. It is a shame to learn that overseas companies are on the shortlist. It is a shame the way the rules work at the moment that more UK-based talent isn’t being nurtured.”

Independent specialists MRC are organising the competition in line with EU procurement guidelines and the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

“We knew we were up against some stiff competition but we felt, as people of York, we wanted to be an active part in rebuilding such an important historical and culturally significant place such as the NRM,” said Mark.

“The next phase is just an ideas stage. We would have had the chance to get around the table and get creative. It would have been nice to be the wild card in that process.”

Competitors were encouraged to demonstrate exceptional design talent, creative flair, sensitivity to the heritage context and expertise in sustainability.

The shortlisted teams are 6a architects (UK) and OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen (Belgium); Atelier d’Architecture Philippe Prost (France); Carmody Groarke (UK); Feilden Fowles (UK); and heneghan peng architects (Ireland).

Judith McNicol, NRM director, said: “Announcing the shortlist for Central Hall marks an important milestone in the realisation of Vision 2025 - our exciting and ambitious £55 million plan to transform and reimagine the National Railway Museum. I am looking forward to seeing the design concepts and sharing these with our visitors and the communities around us.”

The finalists have three months to develop their concepts, which will be displayed in a public exhibition in February 2020. The winner will be announced in March 2020.