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Westminster council has voted unanimously to approve Selldorf鈥檚 highly controversial plans to remodel the grade I-listed Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery.

The planning officer鈥檚 recommendation to approve the scheme was backed by councillors at a Westminster planning meeting yesterday evening, despite an outcry from heritage campaigners and the building鈥檚 original architect.

Completed in 1991, the Sainsbury Wing is the only UK work by postmodernist pioneers Venturi Scott Brown & Associates. It currently serves as the gallery鈥檚 main entrance, a purpose for which it was never designed, and the overhaul is intended to open up the space to make it more welcoming for visitors.

But Denise Scott Brown, one of the building鈥檚 original designers,

The plans were also trashed by eight former RIBA presidents in a joint letter to the council, which

The plans, which are expected to be complete in time for the gallery鈥檚 200th anniversary in 2024, involve partially removing a large section of floorplate to allow in more natural light, relocating a group of Egyptian style columns to become part of a new shop and cladding another group of columns in sandstone.

A new entrance will also be created with changes to the public realm including new bollards, paving and benches, and an underground tunnel will be built to connect the wing with the central Wilkins building.

Westminster council said the level of heritage harm caused would be 鈥渓ess than substantial鈥� and outweighed by the public benefits. Selldorf founder Annbelle Selldorf has also endorsed the opinions of those who view the Sainsbury Wing鈥檚 lobby as 鈥渄ark and confusing鈥�.

The Twentieth Century Society said it strongly disagreed with the council鈥檚 assessment of the scheme鈥檚 impact and called for a public inquiry, which it dubbed the 鈥渟econd Battle of Trafalgar鈥�, to allow a fuller public debate over the plans.

At the weekend Scott Brown 鈥� who is now 91 鈥� spoke of her anger at Selldorf鈥檚 proposed changes to the internationally lauded building, which is considered by some heritage groups to be among the most important works in post-war Britain.

鈥淪he鈥檚 making our building look like a circus clown,鈥� Scott Brown said in an interview. 鈥淭here are elements of tragedy 鈥� circus clowns are made up to look happy, but they鈥檙e not. This is a circus clown wearing a tutu.鈥�

Scott Brown said the argument missed the point that the design for the wing 鈥� which normally houses the National Gallery鈥檚 Renaissance collection 鈥� was inspired by the experience of leaving an Italian church crypt to experience artistic wonders above.

鈥淏y the time people come up our stairs, they look around and say 鈥榶ou鈥檝e cleaned the paintings鈥�,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we haven鈥檛 鈥� we鈥檝e made their eyes modulate by the coolness of the downstairs.鈥�

The plans were revised last month , who had previously called for a 鈥渟torm of protest鈥� over the designs. The older version of the scheme would have removed the Egyptian style columns entirely and seen ground floor columns clad in a light coloured timber.

But the eight former RIBA presidents said the revisions were 鈥渆ven more ill judged鈥� than the earlier proposals and resembled an attempt to 鈥渏am a modern building into the guts of the Sainsbury Wing and wholly change its character鈥�.

They added: 鈥淎part from the worrying precedent being set for grade I-listed buildings elsewhere, the proposals wholly undermine the thoughtful sequence of spaces that Bob and Denise introduced to prepare the visitor carefully and propitiously for the delights of the galleries above.鈥�

Venturi Scott Brown & Associates was appointed to the project in 1986 following Westminster鈥檚 rejection of proposals by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek, which had earlier been dubbed a 鈥渕onstrous carbuncle鈥� by the then Prince of Wales, King Charles III.