Town council and civic society object to yellow paint on BBC One’s The Apprentice candidate Marianne Rawlins’ baby shop Stork of Stamford in St Mary’s Street - despite it being from Dulux heritage range
TV apprentice Marianne Rawlins is facing complaints about the colour of her town shop - despite using paint from a heritage range.
The former candidate on BBC One’s The Apprentice opened ‘Stork of Stamford’ in St Mary’s Street in September, offering clothing, toys and equipment for babies and children.
The building, formerly home to clothing chain Jaeger, had been empty for more than two years so was given a new lick of paint before opening.
However, because of the building’s history and its place in a conservation area planning permission should have been sought before.
Keen to keep the building in its new yellow and black colours, Marianne has submitted a retrospective application.
Lodging objections to the building’s new look, the town civic society told planning officers: “The application of the so-called ‘heritage colour’ has a negative impact on the building and should be reconsidered.”
Stamford Town Council added ‘yellow is not an acceptable colour in the conservation area’.
Marianne, a mother-of-two young children who lives in Stamford, said: “I’m a little surprised.”
The yellow colour, called cherished gold, was selected by Marianne from the Dulux heritage range as it was the most similar to Stork’s logo while the black was chosen to match the existing Tudor-style beams.
Dulux’s heritage collection was developed by historian and paint analyst, Patrick Baty, and ‘inspired by periods of historical significance between 1714 to 1939’.
“I think we have done a great job to preserve the heritage of the building,” said Marianne.
“The last thing we want to do is detract from the character – we tried to accentuate it more than anything else.”
Officers from South Kesteven District Council’s planning department will now make a decision as to whether Stork can stay yellow and black or if it must be repainted in a different colour.
What do you think? Email smeditor@stamfordmercury.co.uk.
