We’re furious after a sweetshop on our high street was painted PURPLE… it belongs in Benidorm & is a complete eyesore | The Sun
A SWEETSHOP painted in "garish" purple has been branded an "eyesore" by residents.
Locals say the store – plastered with pictures of gummy bear sweets – "belongs in Benidorm" rather than historical Stratford-upon-Avon.
Residents argue the store, located in a Grade II-listed building believed to be around 430-years-old, sticks out like a "sore thumb" in the refined town.
Trading standards and planning bosses are investigating whether or not the store has violated guidelines.
Locals and tourists who hit the streets in Shakespeare's iconic birthplace expressed their opposition to the recent opening.
Dad-of-one George Forrester, 64, said: "I'm all for new businesses coming to the area but this is an absolute eyesore.
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"He's already changed the shopfront from blue to purple but if anything it looks even worse now. It's just a horrible garish blight on the high street.
"Its not in keeping with the character of the area and sticks out like a sore thumb – it looks like it belongs in Benidorm not in Stratford-upon-Avon."
Dr Lindsay MacDonald, chairman of the Stratford Society, was equally unimpressed.
He told the Stratford Herald: "We had no warning of this despoiling of the shopfront, which is appalling.
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"It goes against all sense of taste and good design, and is shockingly detrimental to the appearance of the High Street, especially in such a sensitive location opposite Harvard House.
"The planning authority surely cannot have approved such a monstrosity."
However, some are unmoved by the high street's recent addition, pointing to the the inconsequential nature of their anger.
One said: "At least it's open for business and not boarded up!
"People need to get a grip and stop moaning about trivial things."
Another added: "At least it's not vacant and dismal" while a third added: "It's a sweet shop, what do you expect……?"
Stratford District Council planning guidelines state shopfront and signage should not feature "colour, material and illumination" deemed "harsh or aggressive".
It states: "Signs should remain secondary to any individual building and help to maintain the character and rhythm of the building and the street frontage.
"Signs should not clutter or dominate the facade of a building nor, by extension, the entire street frontage.
"The colour, material and illumination of signs should be subdued and not harsh or aggressive.
"Harsh and shiny or reflective surfaces such as many acrylics and plastics and chrome should be avoided as should bright and garish colours.
"Ill-considered and overly intrusive designs can have a very detrimental effect.
"The aim should therefore be for new shopfronts and signage to enhance buildings and townscapes and improve on the previous shopfront or signage that it is replacing."
A spokesperson for Stratford District Council said: "We've got a current enforcement case ongoing – so we're unable to make any comment on a live case at the moment."
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Owner Paul Ellis, who originally opened the store as Hariboland before changing it to Gummieland this week, was not available for comment.
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