A 7,000 signature-strong petition to save a Lyme Regis restaurant's controversial decking will be handed in at an upcoming council meeting. 

The dispute over the controversial decking at The Oyster and Fish House has been running for several months between Lyme Regis Town Council and the restaurant's celebrity chef Mark Hix. 

The decking, which was constructed during the pandemic, was approved temporarily as the Government relaxed regulations for the hospitality trade to serve food outside.

Following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Hix applied to retain the 40ft by 26ft space permanently. 

But at a council meeting at the end of January, Lyme Regis councillors ordered the decking to be taken down saying they were 'concerned about the permanent encroachment into the public gardens of a commercial use and the large, decked outside seating area which accompanied it.'

In a statement on their Facebook page, the Oyster and Fish House restaurant said: "We are all very emotional/upset/angry/devastated, in equal measure, as you can probably imagine. We all work so hard to create a wonderful restaurant with great food and service, in a beautiful spot on the Jurassic Coast. 

"We don’t want to see the deck go, and if it affects the business as badly as it could, we also don’t want to lose our jobs."

A petition to 'Save Mark Hix's decking' has  has been substantially backed so far with more than 7,000 signatures at the time of writing - with 10,000 being the ultimate goal. 

Lyme Regis Town Council Clerk John Wright said after last week's meeting that the council was 'concerned' about the decking's 'permanent encroachment' into the public gardens.

"The public gardens should be kept free of commercial development for the enjoyment of local residents and visitors," the council added. 

"The initial request was only agreed by the town council as a temporary Covid-related business support measure.”

The full town council meeting will take place at 7pm on Wednesday, February 15 at the town council offices in Lyme Regis. 

At the meeting, the petition will be handed in and letters of support will be read out.