A MAN who attempted to add colour to his Wrexham house by painting it ‘Mediterranean blue’ has been told to return it to grey by council officers.
Eric Lake decided to liven up his Wrexham Council-owned semi-detached property on Hampsons Grove, Ruabon, by painting the outside walls.
But a letter from the local authority days after he started on the rear of the house warned him in no uncertain terms that the dwelling would have to be restored to its original colour.
Mr Lake said: “We wanted to paint it because it looks so drab. It starts off cream at the bottom of the wall before going grey and then near the top of the wall it turns black.
“However, a few days after we started we got a letter through, telling us we hadn’t sought planning permission and would have to put it back to its original colour of grey, so it matched all the other council houses.”
Mr Lake says he has no problem with the instructions and the fact he should have obtained permission beforehand, but wants to know why the local authority insists on grey for its properties on the street.
He said: “With the country being in the mess it is, we need a bit of light. We don’t want to live in grey. We want something with a bit of life, a bit of sunshine.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think these houses have been painted since they have been built.”
Before moving to Ruabon in January Mr Lake had previously lived in Plas Madoc – where he had successfully painted his house without problem.
He said: “I lived in Marlbrook, which is right by council offices, so they would have seen it. It had a knock-on effect there when we painted it because the neighbours followed suit and a lot of colour was added to the street.”
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