Woman told she can keep 'candy' stripes on Kensington house

A woman who decorated her house with red and white 'candy' stripes has been told by the High Court that she does not have to repaint it.

Property developer Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring painted the stripes on the building in Kensington, London, in 2015.

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Ms Lisle-Mainwaring was accused of painting the stripes to spite neighbours who objected to her plans to demolish the property and replace it with a new dwelling and two-storey basement. She denied these claims.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said the stripes were out of keeping with the look of the area and she was served with a notice to repair it under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

According to the Metro, the notice stated: "The condition and appearance of the property, particularly the red and white painted stripes on the front elevation, is incongruous with the streetscape of South End and the local area."

After failed appeals to magistrates and Isleworth Crown Court last year over the requirement to repaint the property white, Ms Lisle-Mainwaring launched judicial review action at the High Court in London.

On Monday, a judge ruled in her favour and quashed the notice, saying the paint job was 'entirely lawful'.

According to the BBC, explaining his ruling, Mr Justice Gilbart said: "In my judgment, to allow a local planning authority (LPA) to use section 215 to deal with questions of aesthetics, as opposed to disrepair or dilapidation, falls outside the intention and spirit of the Planning Code.

"I am therefore of the view that it is an improper use of Section 215 to use it to alter a lawful painting scheme."