The Happy Valley Chinese Restaurant in Our Ladies Row, Goodramgate, has applied for retrospective planning permission to have a sign installed on the front of the building.
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The Ghost of William Etty, a group formed in the 1990s to prevent York's cobblestones from being removed from city streets, is objecting to the sign, saying it is vandalism of the Grade I listed building.
Gordon Campbell-Thomas, one of the group's founders, is calling for the sign to be removed, saying the owner installed it without planning permission. He plans to hold a protest outside the restaurant on Friday, April 5 at 12:30 p.m., and would like people to join him.
But Junyue Tan, from Happy Valley, said she needed a sign to attract customers after paying a hefty £8,000 insurance claim.
The application follows a similar application from the neighboring Old York Tea Rooms last year. York City Council then rejected the retrospective planning application and the business owners appealed this decision.
Campbell-Thomas said: “York are once again on a slippery slope.
“Firstly, a commercial company thought it could make fun of the city’s heritage and history by defiling planning regulations and desecrating a Grade I listed building, and now the Happy Valley Chinese restaurant next door is We are trying to do that with residents and the city council.
“They have applied for retrospective planning permission to install a large, brightly painted green sign on the ground floor of their store on Our Ladies Row.
“Enough is enough. Let's stop this blatant vandalism. 2000 years of history and heritage must mean something, not wild commercialism.”
“We need signage to continue our business. We need to attract customers because people often say they can't find us,” Mr Tan said.
“Our insurance claim is now £8,000, but are those protesting going to pay that bill? It was £2,000, but the damage was caused by a lorry hitting the outside of the building. Prices went up. Drivers were trying to avoid blue lights.'' Badge holders were parked so they couldn't get through. ”
According to the York Civic Trust, Our Ladies' Row is one of the oldest buildings of its kind in York and in the country, having been built in 1317.
Anyone who is interested or would like to join Campbell-Thomas' protest should contact ghost.williametti@gmail.com.
