A SUPERMARKET chain’s bid to put up signs at a new store which will be part of the redevelopment of York’s White Swan Hotel has been turned down.

City of York Council planners said Sainsbury’s signage scheme for the facade of the Piccadilly site would be too large and “unduly dominant”, and would damage the appearance of the building, which is within a conservation area.

The mock-Tudor style former hotel dates from 1912 but its upper floors had been empty for decades before the council approved proposals to turn them into flats last year. The ground floor will be used for retail, with Sainsbury’s saying its store will create the equivalent of 20 full-time jobs.

Refusing permission for the signs, planning officer Jonathan Kenyon said in a report that they would be “over-assertive and uncompromising, in conflict with the age and architectural style of the building”.

Sainsbury’s has secured permission for automatic sliding doors and a cash machine at the front of the premises and is expected to come back with a fresh application for signs.