THE owners of a top York restaurant who warned they might quit York because of yellow lines have welcomed plans to restore evening on-street parking.

City of York Council may remove controversial on-street parking restrictions in up to 12 streets, following protests from business owners, including Maria and Sam Abu Rish, of award-winning restaurant Rish, in Fossgate.

The yellow lines were painted earlier this year at the same time as hefty evening charges were introduced in car parks.

Councillors are now being recommended to go out to consultation on a possible relaxation of the bans, but with parking meters installed instead. The charge would probably be £1 for the evening for motorists displaying a residents' badge, and £2 for others - in line with the flat rate evening fees now being proposed for car parks.

All the proposals will be considered by councillors on Tuesday. Officers say a total of 137 parking spaces could be created on streets across the city centre, including 18 in Fossgate, and another 22 at the western end of Walmgate, with others in Duncombe Place, Goodramgate, Piccadilly, St Denys Road, Lendal, Blake Street and Stonebow.

Bays could also be created in Davygate, St Sampson's Square and Parliament Street, but officers stressed these were paved pedestrian areas and potential visual problems might arise.

Rish, named Restaurant of the Year in the 2002 York Tourism Awards, is listed in the Michelin Guide and is in the Good Food Guide. Its owners warned in the summer that once-thriving Fossgate was being turned into a ghost street in the evenings.

They said that if the restrictions were not removed, they would seriously consider quitting York for another city where cars were still welcome at night - such as Leeds. Maria also hit the council in the pocket by taking her commercial refuse collection business away from the authority and giving it to a private waste collection company.

The couple said today that the proposed changes were a massive improvement on the yellow lines, and would definitely help business, and called for them to be introduced without delay.

However, they still had concerns about the charges non-residents might have to pay. "A £1 charge is reasonable, but I think it should be £1 for everybody, not just residents," said Sam. "People from Harrogate and Leeds bring money in to York, and should be made to feel welcome." Maria warned that people from outside the city might vote with their feet.

Michael Hjort, proprietor of Meltons Too restaurant in Walmgate, also welcomed the proposals, saying they were an improvement on the parking ban. "My gut feeling is that most people will be happy with the on-street charges," he said.

Updated: 08:37 Wednesday, September 22, 2004