YET another retailer in York’s beleaguered Coney Street has apparently shut up shop.

Quirky gift shop Pylones, which has headquarters in France, informed letting agents of its intentions around two months ago.

According to the property's management company, Pudney Shuttleworth, the lease on the shop had expired and the company was unwilling to renew.

However, shoppers were shocked, with some saying they had been in the store only a few days earlier and had no indication of the apparent closure.

In July the Press reported that the closure of Poundworld would bring the number of empty shops in Coney Street to 11. Pylones would brings that total to 12, however Fone Hub has recently opened on part of the site that was Wallis.

Pylones was not available for comment, however Pudney Shuttleworth director Richard Shuttleworth said: “It’s well-documented that it’s a tricky market in general at the moment, but this is a busy location and if you have the right product there’s still good footfall [on Coney Street].”

He said his colleague had been talking to potential occupiers since the company had been told of the retailer’s decision.

He blamed business rates for the state of the high street in York, which is being replicated across the country.

He said: “The council needs to do something creative like a rates release scheme or some other incentive like they have in Bradford.”

This comes as York’s Liberal Democrats put forward proposals to fix the “broken business rates system” by cutting taxes for businesses by five per cent in order to boost local investment.

The proposals have been backed by York-born Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, who said: “Business rates were a badly designed policy to begin with and have become an unacceptable drag on our economy.

“They are a tax on productive investment and a burden on high streets struggling to adapt to the rise of online retail.”

Less than two months ago, the Press revealed that there are around 50 empty shops within the city centre, with more apparently closing.

Elsewhere in York, curiosity shop Pandora’s Box, in Colliergate and St Paul’s Christian bookshop, in Fossgate, have both put notices in their windows revealing plans to close the stores on the weekend of September 21/22.

Other shops to have closed in Coney Street recently include Poundworld, River Island and PC World.