Local businesses have rallied behind a landlord who became the victim of the council's clampdown on 'garish' paint jobs.
Viktoriya Kovalenka, 27, who runs VK Beauty Studio opposite Mr Nevill's Kent Nails said: 'I think the pink was too pink, which is a bit silly to be honest. I feel like it is picking on local businesses. 'As Canterbury council, they should be supporting local businesses, rather than telling them to keep swapping the pinks, because it is expensive to paint the shop, and again big businesses are getting away with it.
Ms Kovalenka also revealed that she had also had a run-in with the council over the tinge of pink she could use for her business' sign. Over a month before the deadline, Mr Nevill received the enforcement notice warning he could face a huge fine or even a spell behind bars He was first contacted by the local authority in 2023, having painted the outside of the properties a new shade of bright salmon without permission two years earlier.Mr Nevill applied for planning permission to recoat the exterior walls the council-approved colour of 'conch parade pink' and make other requested changes regarding the shops' signage and lighting.
'I am all for that, and whatever is asked of me by the council, in this case Canterbury City Council planning department. 'Our work to tackle overbearing and garish shopfronts that are not sympathetic to the area's heritage and history, and have been altered illegally, has been running for more than 18 months.
'His shopfront was visited on 24 May and as no work had been carried out, enforcement notices legally requiring him to tone down the colour of the paint and remove signage was prepared and issued on 18 June.