A CONTROVERSIAL sex shop's plans to open on Sundays have been resurrected despite huge opposition from the Salvation Army.

The York Citadel organised a 37-name petition against the Gillygate shop's earlier application for a Sunday opening licence two years ago.

It helped planning councillors halt the shop's plans.

But its owner, Nick Griffin, has resubmitted the proposal, and hopes that this time City of York Council will be on his side.

He said: "We've been open for some time now, and we have never had any problems. Everything we do is behind closed doors, it doesn't affect anybody outside the shop and I can't see what difference it makes to the Salvation Army if we trade on Sunday or not.

"We are definitely losing quite a bit of money by not trading on Sundays and I am going to try again to get permission to open. I have no idea if the Salvation Army are planning to oppose it again, but I expect they will."

The shop already opens six days a week, but must stay closed on Sundays and public holidays.

It is almost directly opposite the Citadel, the Salvation Army's York headquarters, which is used by between three to four hundred people on Sundays.

Peter Gale, a member of the Salvation Army, said: "This shop is opposite a place of worship and we oppose it in principle. People should have the right, particularly on a Sunday, to come to a place of worship and not have to walk past this kind of place.

"If we could, we would get it closed down, but we have to accept the council's decision. We will be opposing this application," said Mr Gale.

The proposal for Sunday opening has just been received by the council. No date has yet been set for it to be discussed.

The shop was licensed as a sex store in February 2001. Before that it had been an adult shop, which means only a small proportion of its goods could be sex items.

Updated: 09:57 Thursday, April 03, 2003