Merseyside museum officials were made to pay £750,000 as its new site obstructs the view from one of the city’s iconic “Three Graces”.

National Museums Liverpool’s (NML) new £72m Museum of Liverpool - due to open in 2011 - blocks the view from the Port of Liverpool building, which, along with the Royal Liver Building and the Cunard Building, makes up the UNESCO World Heritage Site on Pier Head known as the Three Graces.

According to a legal clause made in 1963, the sight lines are protected and consequently NML was open to a compensation claim from Downing, the owner of the Port of Liverpool.

NML said in a statement: “It is not unusual for there to be ancient agreements in place on land in prominent locations.

“We would rather have spent this money on the museum, but to put it in context, this amounted to around 1 per cent of the total cost of the entire project.”

However, the project is already £4m over budget and months behind schedule.