Dry cleaner forced to repaint shop after she ‘harmed’ Britain’s prettiest town

Peters’ Cleaners in Stamford opted for blue and orange paint (Picture: SWNS)

A business owner ordered to change her blue and orange shop front for causing ‘harm’ to the character of a historic market town could be taken to court after refusing to repaint it.

Vicky Whiter was told she must alter the frontage of Peters’ Cleaners in Stamford, Lincolnshire, after she painted it bright colours without planning permission.

Council chiefs said the choice of blue and orange was ‘unacceptable’ for a listed property in a conservation area in a town branded ‘Britain’s most picturesque.’

Vicky had given the business on St Paul’s Street a new lick of paint in October 2022 as part of rebranding plans to uplift its outdated appearance.

But she said she was unaware planning permission should have been sought first because of the building’s history and its place in the posh town’s conservation area.

Defiant Vicky is now standing firm after being told she must fork out thousands of pounds to repaint the shop front.

The council is considering taking the owners to court (Picture: SWNS)

She is asking planning officers from South Kesteven District Council for more flexibility and time to correct the mistake – but faces court action if they refuse.

In a letter, she said: ‘I budget to re-decorate the shop front every four years and will happily adhere to all planning when I plan to re-decorate in the summer of 2026.

‘At this time however I cannot put the survival of my business at risk by spending now. It would help me and other independent retailers immeasurably if the council worked with us to agree a more flexible timetable with a view of bringing everyone in line by December 2026.

‘As the rules haven’t mattered for the last 20 years, I can’t see why another 18 months would be such an issue.’

Vicky believes the shop, which was painted a plain dark blue, got lost in the street scene so she was keen to make it stand out.

The new blue is similar to the original dark blue colour with the orange chosen as its ‘nature’s natural complement to blue in sunrises and sunsets’.

Vicky says she doesn’t see the issue (Picture: SWNS)

She said the vinyl was also added in the brand colours to protect the staff from the sun which shines into the shop for the majority of the day.

Vicky believes redesigning and redecorating the shop will cost between £4,000 and £5,000 – which she ‘cannot warrant spending at this time’.

She said: ‘I very much hope the council will take a pragmatic and supportive stance and work with small independent retailers to ensure that by improving the look of the High Street they don’t immeasurably damage it by driving independents out of business.’

A spokesperson for South Kesteven District Council said in February it was happy to work with the applicant to agree both a new colour scheme and a timescale for the repainting of the shop front.

When asked again this week, a spokesman said the council’s position had not changed and did not confirm whether they are willing to work to the timescale Vicky has suggested.

However, the shop owner says she was given a deadline of the end of September to resubmit a planning application and now believes they may take her to court.

Vicky added: ‘This bullish attitude is unfathomable. Stamford’s independent shops are the heart and soul of the town and are what makes it special.

‘You only have to look at the success of Shop Stamford to see this. There aren’t many High Streets that have a Hambleton Bakery rather than a Greggs.’

When the council was asked how long she has to repaint and what action, if any, will it take if the business is not repainted, they did not provide an answer.

According to the Stamford Shopfront Design Guide, a document drawn up by the district council to ensure the heritage is retained, the maximum penalty for breaking the rules is two years in prison and an unlimited fine.

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.

Several shops in Stamford have eye-catching shades, including Oliver Bonas, which stands out in pink in the High Street, and Joules, which sports yellow.

TV apprentice Marianne Rawlins, who runs Stork of Stamford, was also ordered to repaint her town shop after council officers decided the colours are ‘harming’ the listed building.

The children’s shop is painted yellow and black to match the existing Tudor-style beams.

After receiving the enforcement notice in July, Marianne resubmitted plans for a deeper shade of gold which she believed had the council’s support but these were refused due to not including drawings.

Marianne plans to resubmit her application and hopes it will be approved so she can ‘eventually stop talking about paint’.

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Locals previously branded Vicky and Marianne’s brush with council planning officers as ‘appalling’ and ‘utter nonsense’.

They believed the decisions were ‘extreme’ considering the independent business is just down the road from brightly-coloured Dominos, Subway and O2 stores.

Peters’ Cleaners customer Thomas Bradley, 37, said: ‘It’s very extreme. It’s no brighter than Dominos, Subway, O2 and Vodafone down the road.

‘But the council won’t touch the big guns, they just seem content on targeting the smaller businesses.’

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