BOSSES at a "garish" York pub are waiting to hear if its bright new decor will be banished, or if a ruling by council planners will be thrown out so the vivid colours can stay.

When the former Falcon pub in Micklegate was refurbished and renamed Rumours it was also given a bright new image as a "fun pub" to attract younger drinkers.

That included painting the exterior bright green, red and black - the brand colours for Woodpecker Cider.

But City of York Council said the colours were out of character for the Grade II listed building from the 1840s in a conservation area, and it should not have been painted without listed building consent.

Rumours bosses have appealed against the order for them to paint over their bright front with "dark, traditional colours".

"Painting the front was a business decision, and I can tell you that if we had left it as it was I can say categorically we wouldn't be trading today," Rumours investor Arthur Swain told the public inquiry into the appeal at York Guildhall yesterday.

But council officials said their concern was the building itself.

"The brightly contrasting colours have degraded the appearance of the building, and are affecting the street as a whole," said development control officer Jonathan Carr.

"It is both the intensity of the colours and also the contrast - or clash - between them that we are not at all happy with."

But he was told the order could be annulled as it did not give sufficient solutions.

"If you give a notice you must give full guidance on what to do to remedy the matter, whereas you just gave the order to paint it a 'traditional colour'. This could nullify the order," said the inspector, James Griffiths.

Mr Carr then suggested the woodwork should be painted olive green to match the "traditional" building.

But the owners disagreed, saying that when the building was first listed in 1971 the fascia was "John Smiths Green" and the new colours were quite in keeping with its history.

"How can we change it back to olive green, when it never was olive green?" asked landlord Chris Fall.

Both parties are now waiting to be notified of the final decision on the colour scheme by the inspector.

Updated: 11:48 Wednesday, December 10, 2003