York: Plans for Giggling Squid restaurant in Banks Musicroom, Lendal

As The Press revealed on Saturday (February 17), Tom Limbert, director of Central Retail, said Thai restaurant chain Giggling Squid has agreed to let the building in Lendal, which housed the iconic music shop for almost four decades until it closed last year. 

Plans have now been submitted by PNW Studios Ltd architects on behalf of Giggling Squid which offer a glimpse into how the site could look.

Plans for the new Giggling Squid shop front in Lendal (Image: Planning Documents)

Included are proposals for a new shop front.

The building has been used for retail for at least the last 60 years, according to the planning documents.

Banks Musicroom moved into the site in 1985. It was previously a Debenhams department store.

The architects propose that the shop front is changed to include a stall riser (an area between the windowsill and ground) and shallower fascia bands.

Proposed plans for Giggling Squid in Lendal (Image: Planning Documents)

They have also proposed that the shop front is painted light green with white text for the Giggling Squid branding.

“The design changes represent the shop front to the public in a manner that is more sympathetic to the host building and the overall street context,” the planning document states.

Banks Musicroom in Lendal, York, on a rainy day in December 2010 (Image: Newsquest)

A public consultation on the plans is to be launched by City of York Council on Monday, March 11.

Mr Limbert from Leeds-based Central Retail, which is acting on behalf of a private landlord for the Lendal site, told The Press: “We had a number of national and regional restaurant operators interested in the premises but have agreed attractive commercial terms with Giggling Squid.

“It was disappointing for Banks Musicroom to close having been a long-established retailer in Lendal but the street is now home to bars and restaurants.”

Read next:

• Revealed: The business moving into iconic Banks Musicroom in York
• Iconic York shop to close after more than 250 years in city centre
• PICTURES: Farewell Banks - thanks for the music and the memories

Giggling Squid operates around 50 restaurants across England and Wales, including in Harrogate.

The business was founded by husband-and-wife team Pranee and Andy Laurillard in 2002.

They opened their first restaurant in Brighton with the aim of bringing the “buzz” of Thai mealtimes to the UK, a spokesperson for Giggling Squid said.