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Mum stands firm over house colour
A DEFIANT homeowner who has vowed to go to jail rather than change the colour of her home will go to war with planners again this week.
Single mum Janice Daines, 47, of Callis Street, Clare, was told last year the lilac paint on her Grade II listed cottage was inappropriate and she should have obtained planning permission.
But the factory worker, who painted the house 18 months ago with the help of her 72-year-old father, told officers she could not afford to repaint her home and liked the colour.
The mother-of-two then put in a retrospective planning application, but St Edmundsbury Borough Council's Planning committee is being advised to throw it out on Thursday.
In a report to committee members, officers say the 17th century timber-framed terraced property is listed and within Clare Conservation Area.
Clare Town Council also wants the lilac colour scheme vetoed.
English Heritage, Suffolk Preservation Society, the Clare Society and two neighbours all object to the application, councillors will be told.
"This is a row of traditional houses within a conservation area and the bright lilac is simply unsuitable.
"Agreeing the application would set a precedent for householders to splash unsympathetic 'psychedelic' colours on a building with impunity," a Clare Society spokesman said.
Some neighbours have also said that approving the colour scheme would open the door to anyone who wanted to ignore planning rules. One commented in a letter to the council: "Ignorance of the law is no defence."
But Mrs Daines said she had received messages of support from around the country and vowed to appeal if her application was refused.
She added: "I am not going to change it. It is my house and I think I should be able to paint it what colour I like.
"I love my house, but it is quite non-descript. It is just a little terraced house, not of any great architectural or historical interest."
Story By: Jo Deeks
Date : 15-02-2001
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