TESCO has announced plans  to open an Express store in  Liverpool’s historic Hope  Street, generating extensive  opposition.

The supermarket giant has  applied for permission to put  up an illuminated sign in a  unit next to the Philharmonic  Dining Rooms pub.

As the premises is  designated an A3 category  use, allowing for a cafe or  restaurant, it can be changed  to A1 – a shop – without  planning permission.

Campaigners hope that  opposition to the signs  proposed by Tesco will help  force a rethink.

The Hope Street  Association has warned that,  once the character of the  street is lost, it will be  impossible to recreate.

Tesco said it recognised the  “uniqueness” of some of the  buildings in Hope Street and  was happy to discuss the  design of the signs.

If the store plan goes ahead,  it would become the eighth  Tesco store in the city centre.

The site is opposite  Josephine Butler House  where Maghull Developments  has a plan, which is currently  on hold for a mixed use  scheme that would include a  food store.

Riverside ward councillor  Steve Munby said: “It would  not be in keeping with the  character of Hope Street.

“The application clearly  raises broader concerns  about the balance of the city  centre in general, but in  particular Hope Street.