How councils bully small business owners into repainting their stores

Small business owners across the country hoping to make their store stand out from the crowd with a colourful splash of paint are facing a problem.

Pencil pushing councils are bullying them into repainting their stores because of they believe the unnatural colours cause the buildings to look 'garish' and not 'sympathetic to the area's heritage and history'.

The killjoy local authorities use planning regulations to stop entrepreneurs from painting their shop's distinctive colours such as yellow, pink and gold.

Officials have been ordering the business owners who painted their privately-owned listed buildings unapproved colours to repaint them.

The practice has left some owners, already struggling with the cost of living crisis, thousands of pounds out of pocket as they struggle to quickly change their entire shopfront.

The harsh crackdown has left some business owners accusing their council of using heavy-handed techniques to force shopkeepers and landlords to make changes.

The latest example of the practice was the Beano cafe in Canterbury, Kent, which had become infamous locally for its stand-out bright yellow colour scheme and a sign with the logo of the famous comic which it takes its name from.

But it was forced to be repainted white, after a threat of legal action from the council as part of its campaign against listed buildings with 'garish' appearances.

Mustafa Kovak, 18, says Canterbury City Council gave his family just four weeks in April to repaint the building and install a new hand-painted sign, which cost £600.

He said: 'I thought it was a joke. But they were very serious and have been making legal threats.

'It is ridiculous. But they have been very serious about it. They're killjoys.

'I personally think there are more important issues the city needs to deal with. Rather than the colour of cafes.

'It was so much better before. It stood out and brought in business which can surely only be a good thing for the local economy.

'Because of the changes, we do not get as many customers. It's because we do not stand out as much.

'We got passing trade because of how it looked.

'Now we don't. I hope they're happy with what they have done.'

The Beano is one of 22 businesses warned to change 'inappropriate signage', lights and paintwork, or face prosecution.

The council said the frontages of some listed buildings have been altered without permission and do not blend in with the heritage and history of the city centre.

It launched an initial crackdown last February, with dozens of high street traders found to have broken planning rules.

Mr Kovak added: 'I will never understand it.

'Our cafe looked great. It's very sad what they have made us do.

'They just want everything simple.'

One customer told Mail Online: 'What the council have done is a joke. I feel very sorry for them.

'They are just trying their best.'

Council deputy leader and Liberal Democrat Michael Dixey said: 'We were all stung by the national headlines that compared Canterbury to a second-rate Las Vegas a few years ago and we all knew action had to be taken.

'We're really pleased that many of the businesses we targeted in the first phase of this crackdown have responded positively.

'After 18 months, the few who have dragged their feet have now been served with enforcement notices.

'Our message is getting across to business owners who are really engaging with us and are genuinely keen to do the right thing.'

Altering a listed building without permission is a criminal offence, which means offenders can ultimately be fined or jailed.

Another example of business owners facing stiff opposition from councils over the colour of their shop was Christopher Nevill in Kent.

The landlord was threatened with prison time by his local council after giving his 16th century shopfront a pink paint job.

He secured permission to repaint a nail salon and hairdressers in Canterbury high street with a lighter shade of pink. 

However, after starting work on the shopfront he received a shocking warning in the post. 

The Grade II-listed buildings were flagged by Canterbury City Council as part of its crackdown on 'garish' buildings.

Mr Nevill said: 'I received the letter on the very same day I was painting the shops with the colour approved by the council. They told me if you don't do the changes you could go to jail or face an unlimited fine.

'They could have just sent me a nice email asking how the progress of the painting was coming along.

'But they are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut even when there is no nut to crack.'

Mr Nevill was first contacted by the local authority in 2023, having painted the outside of the properties a new shade of bright salmon without permission two years earlier.

Officials said it was not in keeping with the style of the city centre.

Mr Nevill applied for planning permission to recoat the exterior walls the council-approved colour of 'conch parade pink' and make other requested changes regarding the shops' signage and lighting.

His application was granted last July - giving him until July 24 this year to begin painting.

But over a month before the deadline, he received the enforcement notice warning he could face a huge fine or even a spell behind bars.

He added: 'I think this has been a result of incompetence by the council.

'They need to be brought to heel and not exceed their powers. This has all made me feel intimidated and uncomfortable.'

Shoppers in Canterbury had previously raised concerns that overbearing signs, lights and paintwork are turning the high street into a 'second-class Las Vegas'. 

Another example of a battle between a business owner and a council over paint involved a star of BBC's The Apprentice.

Mother-of-two Marianne Rawlins was told the colour of 'cherished gold' on her baby and toddler shop was 'harming' the character of a Grade II-listed building in Stamford, Lincolnshire — previously named Britain's most picturesque town. 

The 41-year-old businesswoman, who made it to the final weeks of Lord Sugar's infamously antagonistic reality series in 2019, opened her store in September. 

The Tudor building had been empty for over two years when she was handed the keys, prompting her to give it a fresh lick of paint.

But the entrepreneur was left shocked when she was told by the local authority that she may have to change it after the council received just a single complaint.

Because of the history of the building, which originates from the 15th/16th Century, and its place in a conservation area, planning permission should have been sought.

She has now been told to repaint the yellow shop frontage by planning bosses after a retrospective planning application proved unsuccessful.

Marianne, who chose the paint from Dulux's heritage range, said she was disappointed by the decision.

She added: 'There is a pink shop and others in the town which are very clearly standing out from the rest which have been approved and accepted.

'I have trouble understanding because some of those are listed buildings too. It seems they have some secret magic I don't know about.'

Marianne said she also had several discussions with officers where they discussed compromises, including making the yellow colour darker.

She added: 'They then came back and said 'actually we don't like the black'. If you look at Tudor-style buildings the majority have black so I don't really understand.'

Lodging objections to the building's new look, the town civic society told planning officers 'the so-called heritage colour has a negative impact'.

Stamford Town Council added: 'Yellow is not an acceptable colour in the conservation area'.

Planning officers at South Kesteven District Council echoed their views, agreeing that the colour scheme is not appropriate for the listed building.

They said historically it would have been fully rendered in a light colour on both the ground and first floor.

Marianne still plans to appeal against the decision and said she hopes 'reason will prevail' although she is '100 per cent happy' to make compromises.

She claims she was unaware of the complexities surrounding Stamford's conservation until she was sent an enforcement notice last year.

Marianne, who originally spent around £2,000 painting the shop, said: 'I'm a little surprised. I think we have done a great job to preserve the heritage of the building.

'The last thing we want to do is detract from the character - we tried to accentuate it more than anything else.

'It wasn't lost on me that this building may be the one of the oldest buildings in arguably the most historically preserved town in the UK. It's absolutely stunning.

'You have to be careful what you do as it's a listed building, so I was careful.'

Stamford was made the first conservation area in the country in 1967 after a successful campaign by the town's civic society, fueled by concerns about the pace of change and the need to preserve its heritage.

About 25 years later, the Stamford Shopfront Design Guide was drawn up by the planning authority at South Kesteven District Council to ensure the heritage was retained.

The guide has remained unaltered since then and is a crucial document used by planning officers when considering applications.

The rules include a recommendation to use white or neutral colours on slender shopfronts, and a single colour for all the major elements of the design.

However, there is no prescriptive colour chart dictating which shades are allowed.

The maximum penalty for breaking the rules is two years in prison and an unlimited fine.