Enforcement officers from West Berkshire Council moved very swiftly to stop the new Polish tenants of the old Bricklayers pub in Bartholomew Street Newbury. They had started to paint the outside walls lilac. The pub is a grade II listed building.

Firstly using emulison clearly shows they have no idea what they are doing. Secondly are they even allowed to do this as i do believe it is a listed building

Is it listed? can't think why with a 1980s shopping centre built on the back

Looks nice, doesn't it...  

Maybe its not purple paint but Lavender Polish?

(think about it for a bit....?? )

Quoted from Greenham Common

Looks nice, doesn't it...  

Matches the Park Way bridge at night.

I hope it comes off easily - there is no way even WBC's planners could allow this on a listed building in a conservation area.

...come over 'ere, taking our jobs, taking our pubs, disrespecting our traditions...     

Quoted from Greenham Common

...come over 'ere, taking our jobs, taking our pubs, disrespecting our traditions...     

...breaking our laws.

If they hurry the court case the business could be bankrupt before it has opened!

I don't know if they're going to go back and finish it off, but walking past it earlier they've done an awful job.

Now you see it, now you don't. Just in case the whole front gets purpled, this will help to remind us.

are they allowed to do that? unless they have permission from WBC, which I doubt they do.

Quoted from jamoza

are they allowed to do that? unless they have permission from WBC, which I doubt they do.

No, they do not have permission.  As far as I can tell from WBC's website there has been no planning application related to the Bricklayers' since 2002.

In effect they are breaking the law. The trouble is that the law on this issue is a total disaster, encouraging people to carry out work before gaining the necessary permission as councils (and this certainly applies to WBC) are so unsure of their legal standing that they dare not stop such work in case they get sued. Once the damage is done its much easier to persuade planners to let it be. However, they are brave boys and girls, especially when it is a small business involved and, in this case, will almost certainly reject the inevitable retrospective planning application.

Hopefully the damage will not be permanent and the paint will come off (I hope they are using emulsion).

Judging by the 'cowboy' approach outside, I'm wondering how safe it is on the inside!

But will they be selling cheap home made vodka? (Not a word to the tax man <wink wink>)


Perhaps it's an eastern european version of 'painting the town red'?

You are all assuming that permission would be needed - are you sure ???

Quoted from mr rotorvator

You are all assuming that permission would be needed - are you sure ???

Yes.  It is a listed building and it is in a conservation area. Either would mean that a change such as this would require planning consent.

Quoted from mr rotorvator

You are all assuming that permission would be needed - are you sure ???

Yes - it is a Grade II listed building. The Council have issued a stop notice & are in the process of seeing to it that the brickwork will be restored.
Apparently the landlord has done a similar thing in Reading.

Word from WBC is that the painting has stopped and they are working with the owners to ensure that the paint is removed in a manner that will not harm the brickwork.

Looking at the top picture with the purple paint, that wall is fairly modern and was bricked up when the walkway, owned by Simond's brewery and leading though to the Catherine wheel and out into the Market place was closed off. Probably when Bishop's shop alongside was demolished for the Kennet Centre.
The footpath was used a lot as a way through from Bartholomew St to the Market place but was closed every year on the Good Friday weekend so that the brewery retained their title.

Quoted from blackdog

Word from WBC is that the painting has stopped and they are working with the owners to ensure that the paint is removed in a manner that will not harm the brickwork.

At the owners cost obviously !!!  

Quoted from HJD

At the owners cost obviously !!!  

I hope so!

Dawwwww..... I think it pretties up the place a bit.

Bet the chavs are raging though  

If the white painted walls stay, can we not use this as a 'Designated Grafitti Area'?

I see the pub still remains part purple.

Quoted from user23.3

I see the pub still remains part purple.

And will until the owners have satisfied the conservation officer that what they do to remove it will not damage the brickwork.  They also need to get approval for whatever paint scheme they use.  Perhaps they will also need planning permission for internal changes?

Quoted from blackdog

Perhaps they will also need planning permission for internal changes?

It is unrecognisable inside from the days of Sid and Veronica!  

Quoted from blackdog

And will until the owners have satisfied the conservation officer that what they do to remove it will not damage the brickwork.  They also need to get approval for whatever paint scheme they use.  Perhaps they will also need planning permission for internal changes?

This wall is not of any historic value as it is new brickwork, put up to blank off the old Cathrine Wheel walkway and increase the internal size of the pub when the Kennet Centre was built. It doesn't exactly blend, now that it is purple, with the rest of the street, such as Iceland and other shops opposite.

Quoted from brian

This wall is not of any historic value as it is new brickwork, put up to blank off the old Cathrine Wheel walkway and increase the internal size of the pub when the Kennet Centre was built. It doesn't exactly blend, now that it is purple, with the rest of the street, such as Iceland and other shops opposite.

The wall is part of a listed building - it doesn't matter when it was built (although they have painted part of the older brickwoork as well). As part of a listed building any changes require listed building consent.  The fact that it is new would be a good argument if you wanted to demolish it and reinstate the carriage entrance, but not if you wanted to paint it purple.  Of course, when they applied to build the wall they would have had to get listed building consent and part of that would be that the wall should match the period of the rest of the pub - which they did pretty well.

It is also in a conservation area which requires planning consent to any changes that will affect the streetscene - a purple pub certainly comes into this category.

Quoted from blackdog

It is also in a conservation area which requires planning consent to any changes that will affect the streetscene - a purple pub certainly comes into this category.

Red faces all around then!

Remember what happened when Snappy Snaps went luminous?

Steve Billcliffe (wasn't he a local labour candidate?) had a letter published in the NWN today - the editor can't be a fan of his!  He demonstrates an impressive talent for digging a large hole, getting into it, shooting himself in the foot and then putting it in his mouth. According to him WBC have allowed the Snooty Fox to be painted purple - as opposed to preventing the Bricklayers being painted purple.

Quoted from blackdog

The wall is part of a listed building -

It is also in a conservation area which requires planning consent to any changes that will affect the streetscene - a purple pub certainly comes into this category.

Oh, I do agree that painting the wall purple is criminal and thank heavens they were stopped in time. My point though was that that particular brick was modern and if it won't come off, then rebuilding the wall with new but matching bricks should be acceptable but of course this doesn't apply to the remaining frontage.

Quoted from brian

Oh, I do agree that painting the wall purple is criminal and thank heavens they were stopped in time. My point though was that that particular brick was modern and if it won't come off, then rebuilding the wall with new but matching bricks should be acceptable but of course this doesn't apply to the remaining frontage.

Fair enough - I wonder if it would be cheaper than the paint removal technique required?  I suspect they will be happy if they were really using emulsion.

I think maybe they wanted to paint it purple, as part of there marketing scheme, however I think that purple is not exactly the colour that I would want to paint a building...maybe purple paint was on sale, lol!

I would rather have left it the way it was, it looks allot better with the natural look of the bricks anyway.  

Quoted from Ashley

I think maybe they wanted to paint it purple, as part of there marketing scheme, however I think that purple is not exactly the colour that I would want to paint a building...maybe purple paint was on sale, lol!

I would rather have left it the way it was, it looks allot better with the natural look of the bricks anyway.  

Not going inot to newbury i would'nt know this - but hav'nt they just painted the windows purple (the picture looks like this), and the wall is white ??? (white birckwork is quite in keeping with the local area..so cant see the problem, just paint the windows a less offensive colour)

Quoted from mr rotorvator

Not going in to newbury i would'nt know this - but haven't they just painted the windows purple (the picture looks like this), and the wall is white ??? (white brickwork is quite in keeping with the local area..so can't see the problem, just paint the windows a less offensive colour)

The colour is actually lilac. It appears to be white in the photograph.

Quoted from mr rotorvator

(white birckwork is quite in keeping with the local area..so cant see the problem, just paint the windows a less offensive colour)

No, it isn't, the brick walls in Newbury are not painted any colour, white included. The window frames which have been painted purple look well out of place. They can call the pub anything they like, but even the name chosen, which I believe is "The Purple Lounge" or something similar, strikes me as being out of place. Lord save us from these stupid trendy pub names. (Slug and Lettuce being another example).

By the way, has anybody tried removing emulsion from brickwork. It has a vinyl base and doesn't wash off. The only way to remove it is by high pressure wash, even then there is a danger that the face will be knocked off the bricks allowing water to soak in and then the fronts blowing off when the frosts come.
Been there, done that, got the Tee shirt.

Quoted from blackdog

Steve Billcliffe (wasn't he a local labour candidate?) had a letter published in the NWN today - the editor can't be a fan of his!  He demonstrates an impressive talent for digging a large hole, getting into it, shooting himself in the foot and then putting it in his mouth. According to him WBC have allowed the Snooty Fox to be painted purple - as opposed to preventing the Bricklayers being painted purple.

Yes he was a Labour candidate, got something like 1,500 votes if I remember correctly.

Is this letter online anywhere?

Quoted from user23.3

Yes he was a Labour candidate, got something like 1,500 votes if I remember correctly.

Is this letter online anywhere?

I don't think they put the letters page online - shame, its usually the most interesting part of the paper.

Quoted from user23.3

Yes he was a Labour candidate, got something like 1,500 votes if I remember correctly.

Is this letter online anywhere?

Even less than that apparently. 1,151 according to online info.

Quoted from 78

Remember what happened when Snappy Snaps went luminous?

'Twas a bit in your face, and it was right to make them tone it down a tad. But, the face of the building that was painted is just plywood and trim so no irreversable harm done.

Does anyone know if this is the same company that runs the Purple Turtle in Reading (and Oxford and Camden)?

http://www.locr.com/photo-united-kingdom-england-great-britain-gun-st-13818857

I find it worrying that the landlord is obviously so stupid to do this - they must have known this was a listed building when they read  the deeds. If not, how competent will they be with the interior?

By the way they were trying to remove the paint using paint scrapers yesterday morning i would'nt be suprised that they have'nt  damaged the brickwork even more.