Natural History Museum’s wildlife garden: fury at ‘urban redesign’ plan

Bosses say revamp is vital to cope with increasing visitor numbers

A long-simmering row over plans to overhaul a corner of one of Britain's best loved museums has burst into the open, with its director publicly defending the move.

Sir Michael Dixon, head of the Natural History Museum in London, has come under fire over plans to transform a wildlife garden in the museum's grounds. He says the change will allow for the creation of a new entrance to the museum, necessary because visitor numbers have soared since free admission was introduced in 2001.