A cancer survivor was ordered to repaint her pink front door after 33 years when a mystery neighbour complained to the council.
Janine Renshaw-Beauchamp, 70, has lived in a listed property in Cirencester for three decades and says she has nearly always had the door painted bright pink.
She painted it when she moved in and has had it that way ever since, apart from a two-year period when she changed it to red for Christmas.
But recently a letter from Cotswold District Council ordered her to paint it a more ‘neutral’ colour because it was ‘causing harm to the conservation area’.
Ms Renshaw-Beauchamp, a divorced administrator, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, when she says the door became a ‘sod off’ to the disease.
Janine Renshaw-Beauchamp, 70, has lived in this listed property in Cirencester for three decades and says she has nearly always had the door painted bright pink
She said: ‘I did it pink 30 years ago because I love the colour.
‘But now it is my symbol for those that I’ve loved and lost, and those who are struggling with the condition.
‘I like the pink door because I’ve had cancer and it’s my sort of beacon for all of us really.
‘I can’t run for charity or anything like that, this is may way of saying ‘sod off, cancer’.
‘It’s for those that have had it, those that have it, and those that are no longer with us.’
She doesn’t know who submitted the council complaint, but says she has her suspicions, adding that if may have been a ‘new neighbour’ or the result of a ‘heavy-handed newbie’ at the council ‘flexing their muscles’.
She added: ‘The letter came on Thursday and that’s when it really started.
But recently a letter from Cotswold District Council ordered her to paint it a more ‘neutral’ colour because it was ‘causing harm to the conservation area’
‘Because I’m quite a feisty person it was OK, I just sat down and said, well, I won’t tell you exactly what I said.
‘If it had gone to someone older than me they would have been afraid because the letter was so aggressive.
‘It told me the painting of the door was damaging the character of the house. How can a painted door damage Cotswold stone?
‘Someone must have complained about the colour of my door. It’s been pink for about 30 years except for a couple of months when I painted it red Christmas 2017.
‘It has been pink for over a year now. The colour is Flamingo Fun. It’s been that colour for all these years and all of a sudden I get this letter.
‘I wasn’t expecting it, not in a million years. I have my suspicions about who complained, I imagine it is someone new that has come to the street.
‘Most people love the door, children stop and stare at it, and passing ramblers say, ‘oh my God, look at that!’
‘It’s not hurting anyone, it’s not hurting the character of the area. I can’t imagine why it is seen as such a problem.’
The letter Janine received was from a planning enforcement officer.
Ms Renshaw-Beauchamp, a divorced administrator, was diagnosed with cancer in 2015, when she says the door became a ‘sod off’ to the disease
It read: ‘It is deemed that the colour applied to the door is causing harm to the conservation area and the door itself, as both are considered to be designated heritage assets.
‘We request that the colour of the door is changed to a more suitable colour in keeping with the surrounding area.’
The council has now confirmed they are planning to take no further action, but her neighbours are still critical.
Posting on Facebook, Tracey Bates said: ‘Lovely colour, bright and cheerful.. What’s wrong with some people.’
Elaine Peckham added: ‘I didn’t know the council had a list of acceptable colours.’
Ms Renshaw-Beauchamp also pointed out that houses in the centre of Cirencester are painted in a array of different colours.
She said: ‘After all these years of it being pink, or shiny Italian Vespa red, I was absolutely horrified to find that someone could have possibly complained and put me in this situation.
‘Down the road is a pink house, and the centre of the town is all the colours of Edinburgh rock.’