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'WRONG' COLOUR COTTAGE WAR

Sheila New outside her cottage

Tuesday October 28,2008

By Martyn Brown

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(20)

A WOMAN who painted her idyllic cottage a subtle shade of blue has been ordered to repaint it bright yellow or face prosecution.

Sheila New decided to spruce up her 230-year-old property by splashing out on a new colour scheme.

But council officials say the blue paint she used breached planning regulations because the building is Grade II listed.

They have now warned her to return the house to its original garish colour or risk a fine of up to £1,000.

But defiant Sheila, 70, who has lived in the cottage for two-and-a-half years, is determined to fight the ruling.

She said: “This is like the Nazis. They had rules and forced people to do things they didn’t want to.

“I have spoken to dozens of people in the village and they all say how nice the cottage looks and how ridiculous the council is being.

“It’s such a dreary town I don’t know how they can stop anybody trying to bring a bit of colour to brighten it up. Common sense never comes into it with these council pen pushers. They just come along with their clipboards and tick boxes.”

Sheila paid £500 to have the front wall of her cottage in Crewkerne, Somerset, painted earlier this year. But six months later, Crewkerne Parish Council sent her a letter demanding she change it back again.

Sheila applied for retrospective planning permission but her bid was rejected.

In a report, planning inspector Colin Ball said the blue paint had caused “considerable detriment” to the historic home. He ordered that the cottage be returned to its original earthy colour in keeping with other Hamstone buildings in the village.

Sheila, who has now been threatened with an enforcement order, said: “I don’t think the blue paint takes away from the area at all. The colour is very pale and I’m sure it will fade in time anyway. The old yellow colour was horrible.”

But a spokesperson for South Somerset District Council said: “The colour doesn’t fit with local policies so we have to ensure it returns to the original yellow colour or the golden browns and beiges that characterise the local area.”

This is like the Nazis

Sheila New

IT'S A LISTED BUILDING SO YOU CAN@T DO WHAT YOU WANT - READ YOUR DEEDS

28.10.08, 11:50pm

She should have got permission first as already mentioned it would be in her deeds, most home owners have not got a clue what is in their deeds and that causes lots of trouble between home owners and the council in this case, I don't like yellow number plates on back of my car but the rules say that is only colour allowed so that's it. I think I have read somewhere that she was a legal secretary if so you would expect her to know what is in her deeds.

• Posted by: CAN • Report Comment

KOOSMER.....WRONG I AM AFRAID.....

28.10.08, 10:37pm

Where I agree with the principle of your post of one owning their own house, and doing what they like with it.....This house is Grade II listed, it would be in her deeds about the rules of changing the colour when she bought the house....sorry...

• Posted by: cocklesandeels • Report Comment

WRONG COLOUR COTTAGE

28.10.08, 9:36pm

YELLOW! it will attract the flies.

• Posted by: Jaypuss • Report Comment

ITS NO LONGER YOUR HOME ITS THE COUNCILS

28.10.08, 8:59pm

They are taking a away her human right to choose the way her cottage looks for sake of a "PC" " attitude

Why should the cottages be Sky,Blue,Pink.
Add a bit of colour to plane surrounds.

• Posted by: Nemesisnow • Report Comment

GEORGIAN COLOUR

28.10.08, 8:23pm

If the council cretins had any brains they would know that the colour is a Regency period colour that fits a house of this age. Dumb b******s.

• Posted by: beowulf • Report Comment

WRONG HEADED LAWS

28.10.08, 7:58pm

To all you folks that say she should be punished, you must be the ones who voted for those stupid laws. She owns the house, she can do as she pleases. If it offended people, too bad. If you vote for laws that make people do or not do things to their own property, you're clearly ignorant of what freedom, liberty, and rights are all about.

• Posted by: Koosmar • Report Comment