Councillors see red over shop front

Owner of Steyning High Street’s ‘Simone Hairdressers’ applied for listed building consent after receiving a compliance complaint from a member of the public for painting her shop front woodwork Dulux Ruby Fountain (bright red).

Horsham District councillors voted to accept the planning officer’s recommendation, and refused Miss Simone Tipler’s application in a development meeting for the south held yesterday (June 18) at Park North.

The planning officer said that the red colour ‘jars’ with the ‘muted tones’ of surrounding shops.

However, many councillors felt a splash of colour would be welcoming to the High Street.

George Cockman (Ind: Ashurst and Steyning) said: “This lifted my spirit really. I can’t say that I get very worked up about this.”

Gordon Lindsay (Con: Billingshurst and Shipley) agreed, he said: “It’s a totally subjective thing. I don’t see any problem. The colour clashes a bit but that won’t do any harm.”

David Coldwell (Con: Bramber, Upper Beeding and Woodmancote) said that he did some research and discovered that red paint had been used for over 100,000 years and therefore could not see an issue.

“I think it will brighten up the High Street,” he added.

But Claire Vickers (Con: Southwater) warned this could encourage a ‘rainbow effect.’

She said: “If we let one we’ll then have a bright yellow shop, a bright blue one, and then we end up with a rainbow effect on the High Street.

“I support the officer’s recommendation.”

Sheila Matthews (Ind: Henfield) agreed: “I’m not for overly bright colours on listed buildings. We have a job to protect them, otherwise it will look like a seaside town.”

George Cockman read out a statement on behalf of Sue Rogers in her absence (Con: Ashurst and Steyning), stating that the colour would ‘contravene policy and ‘set a damaging precedence in the area.’

Phillip Circus (Con: Chanctonbury) said: “If we let this pass we’ll send out a signal and we’ll get others who think ‘if the council thought that was appropriate, let’s have more garish colours.’’We can’t let this happen.”