BBC One’s The Apprentice candidate Marianne Rawlins ordered to repaint baby shop Stork of Stamford in St Mary’s Street by South Kesteven District Council - despite using Dulux heritage range paint

TV apprentice Marianne Rawlins has been ordered to repaint her town shop after council officers decided the colours are ‘harming’ the listed building.

The former candidate on BBC One’s The Apprentice opened ‘Stork of Stamford’ in St Mary’s Street in September last year, offering clothing, toys and equipment for babies and children.

The Tudor-style building, which had been empty for more than two years, was given a new lick of paint before opening.

Marianne chose a yellow colour, called cherished gold, 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.

However, because of the history of the building, which originates from the 15th to 16th Century, and its place in a conservation area, planning permission should have been sought before. As a result Marianne submitted a retrospective application to South Kesteven District Council.

Lodging objections to the building’s new look, the town civic society told planning officers ‘the so-called heritage colour has a negative impact’ while 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 Grade II listed building, as historically it would have been fully rendered in a light colour on both the ground and first floor.

Marianne, a mother-of-two young children who lives in Stamford, admits she was disappointed by the decision as she had several discussions with officers where they discussed compromises, including making the yellow colour darker.

“They then came back and said ‘actually we don’t like the black’,” she said.

“If you look at Tudor-style buildings the majority have black so I don't really understand.”

Keen to keep her brand colours of yellow and black, Marianne plans to appeal against the decision and hopes ‘reason will prevail’.

She said though that she’s ‘100% happy’ to make compromises.

Marianne, 41, said: “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 has also been told to take down a wall mounted sign which officers believe is a concern.

Marianne was unaware of the complexities surrounding Stamford’s conservation until she was sent an enforcement notice last year.

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.

Several shops in Stamford do seem to get away with eye-catching shades, including Oliver Bonas, which stands out in pink in the High Street, and Joules, which sports yellow.

The maximum penalty for breaking the rules is two years in prison and an unlimited fine. But South Kesteven District Council is unaware of penalties being imposed.

Peters’ Cleaners in St Paul’s Street, Stamford faced a similar situation after painting the shop blue and orange paint as part of rebranding.

They were ordered to repaint as the colours are considered unacceptable in a conservation area.

Meanwhile, Margo and Plum, now closed, courted trouble from the town council by displaying a neon sign in the window of its St Mary's Street store, while Freckleface caused a mini furore by hanging plastic foliage from its frontage in Red Lion Street.

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