- Chris Kanizi, 65, has vowed to keep the mural up for as long as possible
An award-winning fish and chip shop has been ordered by council officers to remove a mural of the Union flag ‘as it is inappropriate for the area’.
Chris Kanizi, 65, owner of Golden Chippy, in Greenwich, south-east London, has been told to paint over the mural of the humanoid fish, which is adored by tourists.
Greenwich Council said they had received a ‘number of complaints’ about the mural, which features the phrase ‘A Great British Meal’. They said it was an “unauthorized advertisement.”
Mr Kansizi, who has run Golden Chip for 20 years and lives two doors away, said he does not believe people are complaining about the mural, which the newspaper said was deemed “inappropriate”. Telegraph.
The 65-year-old previously had a row with the council over a 5-metre-high sign above the door of his restaurant, which was named London’s top-rated restaurant on TripAdvisor in 2016.
Chris Kanizi, 65, holds up fish in his award-winning restaurant in south-east London
The Golden Chippy was named London’s best restaurant by TripAdvisor in 2016
The Golden Chippy was named London’s best restaurant by TripAdvisor in 2016
He said: ‘It’s just something to put a smile on people’s faces. But the council said: “This is a protected area, you can’t have it and you have to paint over it.”
‘They also said people had complained, but I don’t believe that. Everyone who has spoken to me says they love it.”
The Cyprus-born chip shop owner, who came to Britain in 1977, had previously fought a two-year battle with the council over a similar 16-foot sign he hung above his door in 2016.
Mr Kansizi eventually took the sign down, despite starting a petition to keep the sign, which gathered 3,000 signatures.
And the fish and chip expert has vowed to keep the £250 mural for as long as possible.
Chris Kanizi has been serving locals and tourists in his fish shop for twenty years
Mr Kanizi for the 2016 board that landed him in a two-year battle with Greenwich City Council
He said, ‘I’m going to keep it going as long as I can. They haven’t given me a date to paint it yet, but they will.”
‘I have so many international customers. They all enjoy taking a photo with the mural in the background.”
A spokesperson for Greenwich Council said: ‘Following a number of complaints to local ward councillors, an enforcement case was brought against the mural in question.
‘Our Planning Enforcement team is investigating this as it is in fact an unauthorized advertisement for the chip shop. The owner has agreed to paint over it.
“We will always attempt to negotiate with the owner before proceeding with a formal enforcement notice.”