Woman locked in tense war with council - all because of the colour of her front door

A woman is stuck in a tense war with her local council - all because she painted her front door.

Miranda Dickson, a 48-year-old Edinburgh woman, is facing a council investigation after first painting her front door pink, then an off-white that complainants say is still pink following threats of a £20,000 fine last year.

Dickson told the BBC she was stunned by the latest development.

She said: "I am speechless that someone has complained about this colour as far as I was concerned this chapter in my life was closed.

"I'm shocked and distraught about it. It is definitely not the same colour as it was originally painted - it's off-white.

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"I feel bullied and that it has now become personal."

Dickson first received an enforcement notice last year which said her pink door did not meet the standards of a house in the World Heritage Site.

It said she must repaint it to its original colour of white or apply for planning permission.

In April, before she received the outcome of her application, she painted the door green because she was near the fine deadline if it remained pink.

Then planners rejected the green colour so she painted it an "off-white" and applied for retrospective planning permission, then the council got cross again, after people complained it was pink.

"It's not like my door is in a bad condition," she said.

"It costs a lot of money to have the front door painted because they are very large. It's not a quick job.

"The council needs to act with more clarity over paint colour."

A City of Edinburgh Council spokeswoman told the BBC: "We have received a complaint alleging that the door has been repainted pink. We're currently looking into this and so can't say more at this time."

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