It is too round, too low, there's too much room between it and the floor above, and one person even thinks it looks like a fish's eye.

People who live and work in Brighton's North Laine have been queuing up to complain about the £2,000 round window at Ali Mughal's designer boutique.

Their views were part of the reason a retrospective planning application for the controversial window in Gloucester Road was rejected by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Mrs Mughal, who fears her business will fail if she is forced to replace the window, yesterday appealed and is waiting for the result after councillors went along to have a look.

Objectors told the hearing the window was too modern.

But Henry Laws, who lives in Queen's Gardens and says he is the only person who can see it directly from his house, believes the appeal is a waste of money.

He said: "I don't find it offensive at all. This should never have gone to appeal - it's money down the drain.

"These people didn't object when it was a fetish shop and the window was festooned with leather fetish outfits."

He said the opportunity for diversity in the North Laine was essential to the commercial growth of the area.

Mrs Mughal, 38, from Preston Park, said: "The North Laine is so full of diverse and wacky shopfronts I didn't think twice about it.

"We were hoping that if the shop was a success my husband Ifraz would be able to give up the commute to London and we could both work here and have a better quality of life with our two children.

"As it is, we may not be able to afford to carry on with the business if we have to take out the window and replace it with a traditional one."

The North Laine Community Association has objected to the window, saying it is out of keeping in a conservation area.

Maureen Brand, its former secretary, said: "I don't like that fish-eye thing."

Other objectors said the window was "too low" and "too round", although planning inspector Christopher Trewick described those objections as "intangible".

Max Woodford, for the council, said there would only be a prosecution if it was in the public interest.

His main objection was the size of the gap between the top of the window and the floor above.

During the hearing Mrs Mughal said she was willing to negotiate with the council to come to an agreement about the shopfront.

However, her solicitor Simon Bareham added: "The Mughals don't have a lot of confidence in a negotiated settlement because the original decision was made without discussion."