Tanning salon boss ordered to take down 'offensive' picture of woman in a bikini
The boss of a tanning salon has lost a battle to keep a poster of a bikini-clad woman on his shop window after the council branded it "offensive".
Jim Cole, 29, paid £700 for the large image of a model on a beach to appear on the outside of the Malibu Tanning Lounge in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
He claimed the vinyl panels were fitted to the windows to allow privacy for customers using the tanning beds inside as well as hiding the till and computers.
The shop also features a side window plastered with a poster of a hunky topless male model.
Jim claimed Harborough District Council told him "two people" in his home town - which has a population 85,000 - had complained about the image, for which he also required planning permission.
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Jim Cole says the decision will cost him thousands of pounds (Jim Cole / SWNS)
The large picture was used for the privacy of those using the beds inside (Jim Cole / SWNS)He now faces a bill of thousands to change the image and the interior of his shop or face further legal action.
He said: "We just can't believe it, we think it's ridiculous, it's clearly not an explicit image.
"It's just a happy woman relaxing on a beach and I found it hard to believe anyone would find it offensive."
"I'm going to have to reconfigure the whole shop and move beds around which will cost me thousands of pounds.”
Jim sought retrospective permission but was turned down because the decor affected the "character and appearance" of the town.
He appealed the decision in January but a government planning inspector upheld the council decision after officers visited the town last month.
Jim paid £700 for the picture on the outside of his business (Jim Cole / SWNS)In their report, the planning inspector said the saucy images caused "detriment" to the character of the area.
The inspector said: "I found the window graphics, because of their size and siting on all panes of the bay, are highly visible in a prominent location on one of the principal approaches into the square and broadly opposite the entrance to the Commons public car park.
"They would therefore detrimentally affect the character and appearance of the conservation area, equating to harm to the amenity of the area."
The inspector went on to say the display was "overwhelming to the modest shopfront", because the images were plastered on all the windows.
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The report added that this was to the "detriment of the host property".
A spokesman for Harborough District Council said: "“The council welcomes the decision of the Planning Inspectorate due to having concerns about the signage’s impact on the conservation area and town centre in Market Harborough, with the signage being highly visible in a prominent location.
“We encourage people to make the most of our pre-planning application advice service prior to submitting planning applications.”
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