A York sex shop which has been open for a quarter of a century has had its licence renewed by councillors.

City of York Council has received no complaints about The Adult Shop in Gillygate since it first opened in 1997.

The shop was given permission to open on Sundays in 2003 despite a row with some churchgoers who worship at the group’s Gillygate Citadel, opposite the sex shop.

A council officer explained that the Sunday hours of 12pm to 5pm were chosen to avoid the shop being open at the same time as church services.

Licensing committee chair Coun Ian Cuthbertson said: “I pass this shop quite frequently on my way into and out of town and on my way to and from a nearby academic establishment and what I can say in my experience of passing it that I’ve never noticed any queues.”

Coun Janet Looker added: “It’s been in Guildhall ward forever, almost. There have been no complaints about it from local residents and actually it is quite a residential street, Gillygate.

“I see no grounds for refusing it.”

The application, by Lilacgrange Limited, asked for permission for the premises to operate to open from 10am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday, and 12pm to 5pm on Sundays.

Sex establishment licenes have to renewed every year.