Historic hotel appeals council decision after owners spend £100k on painting the building - only to be told it is wrong colour

The outside of The George in Rye was painted light brown following a devastating fire. Before the blaze, the hotel was painted in a grey-white colour.

Owners said they submitted their proposals to Rother District Council’s conservation officer, which received support.

But now the authority has refused the retrospective planning application and the owners have had to go to appeal, they said. Alex and Katie Clarke, owners of The George, said planning fees and repainting works are expected to cost ‘in the region of £100,000’.

Alex said: “The George has had a retrospective planning application for its external paint colour refused, which has left us with no option but to appeal formally. The colour has been referenced to a previous colour that that building was painted, by a respected heritage paint consultant whose report shows The George had been painted a range of colours in the 19th century, including the light brown colour palette it is painted now.

“There are many buildings in Rye’s citadel that are not white. White/grey is not necessarily ‘correct’ because it was painted that most recently; this is a matter of personal taste and historical fashion.

“Forcing the hotel to be repainted at this stage would cause disruption to High Street businesses and traders, with extensive scaffolding required and with the need to redecorate in the summer.

“The George is the town’s main employer and if we are forced to repaint the building, this would be at a significant cost, adding financial pressure onto the business which has recently re-opened. Planning fees and repainting works are anticipated to total in the region of £100,000.

“The George contributes a considerable amount in terms of additional visitor spend for retailers, bars, restaurants and food and drink suppliers in the local economy, as well as the positive press and reputation a quality hotel brings to the destination. A key employer is being put at risk for the sake of a paint colour that we were encouraged to use, by the authority who has since refused both applications and now left us in a vulnerable position.

“The George’s refurbishment, with its new external paint colour, earned it the 2023 Sussex Heritage Award (commercial category); this is a significant award which is unlikely to have been awarded to The George if the new colour was considered inappropriate to Rye’s historic townscape by its judging panel.

“We went to great lengths to select the appropriate type of paint, a sustainable non-toxic and breathable paint from Keim Paints, which has sound heritage credentials.

“Rother’s conservation officer at the time insisted that we did not re-paint The George its previously used grey-white colour, and so we adopted a previously used colour as evidenced by historical samples taken from the building and using expert paint analysis. The conservation officer however left their position and the council’s view has since changed.

“The conservation officer at the time was under-resourced, being given both the role of conservation officer and planning case officer on our project, which is not usual for an application of such complexity. The impact of Covid did not help. This led to delays for plans to be uploaded to the planning portal for public consultation, with planning permission taking over 15 months to eventually come through.

“When we submitted our proposals to the conservation officer at the time, it was supported.

“Given the challenging nature of the rebuilding project, we would never have proceeded to paint the building if we felt it was not supported by the conservation officer at the time. As far as we were concerned the paint colour had that officer’s agreement and therefore Rother’s full support. After all the officer was acting with two hats, conservation and planning. If we had waited for Rother District Council to officially approve the application, the building would have deteriorated further and we needed to get the property repaired and the business open.”

The hotel is asking the public to support its appeal. To comment people can email [email protected], marking it for the attention of the Planning Inspectorate, referencing: APP/U1430/W/23/3324343 and APP/U1430/Y/23/3324344. All emails need to be sent no later than Monday, January 15.

A Rother District Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an application for retrospective planning permission in relation to the external paint colour of The George in Rye was refused. An appeal has been made to the Secretary of State against this decision and we are unable to comment further whilst this appeal is ongoing.”