One of York’s quirkiest shopping streets is to be transformed after all the former tenants left.
The units are found on Church Lane, the cobbled alleway that links Low Ousegate to Spurriergate.
Three long-running venues used to operate here: Peters Footwear Specialists, On Time Traditional Watch Repairs and the No 4 Church Lane Café.
Peters Footwear closed suddenly in November 2023. It followed a dispute involving the landlords.
At the time, a handwritten note on the door said: “Due to unreasonable demands by the landlords I have decided to close the shop.
“Thank you to all my customers over the last 25 years for your valued support.”
In fact, although Peter Bullock had run Peters Footwear for a quarter of a century, the shop itself dated back about 60 years.
Bailiffs went in and repossessed No 2 Church Lane on behalf of the owners, the London-based Pauray Properties Ltd.
The last of the three units to close was the On Time watch shop, which shut at Christmas.
YorkMix understands that the landlords declined to renew the lease.
Now Pauray Properties Ltd has submitted plans to turn the three small shops into one large unit.
The proposal is to “remove the dividing walls at ground floor level making the shop unit one viable lettable space,” say planning documents.
“At 79.4 sq m it would be more attractive to potential retail users. At present only No 4 has a toilet facility within the retail space.
Shops location
“No 2 uses the toilets in the space above and No 3 has no toilet or water. The proposal would provide a toilet and staff kitchen space within the commercial unit.”
A design statement says the three units have a “mixed bag of styles”. A single new, single shop front would be added.
The changes would also “give the opportunity to remove the graffiti style paintwork and repaint the existing render”.
At the corner of Church Lane is the beer garden for Yates bar.
You can read and comment on the planning application here.
