THE repainted Bile Beans sign looks terrific and all credit must go to Ron Cooke, the driving force behind this renovation.

The irony is that if this was not the renewal of a shabby old bit of obsolete Victorian advertising but a newly proposed bit of wall art on a blank brick gable, it would be unlikely to get planning permission. It would almost certainly be refused as a garish intrusion, out of place with its surroundings and detrimental to the character and appearance of the conservation area.

Those were the reasons given for seeking removal of the wooden advertising hoarding that concealed it for the greater part of the 20th century.

Matthew Laverack, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York.