Marco Pierre White ordered to re-paint pink pub

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has incurred the wrath of a local council and has been ordered to repaint a pub after it was painted the wrong shade of pink.

The Angel Hotel in Lavenham, Suffolk is a 15th Century building that was recently painted from cream to pink. But local officials are not pleased and an agreement has now been reached for the colour to be changed once again.

Many properties in the area are painted pink, but it is a darker shade known as Suffolk Pink, which is a recognised heritage colour that has been used in the area for centuries.

A spokesman for Babergh District Council said: “Over the past few days officials from Babergh District Council have inspected the works carried out at the Angel in Lavenham and have advised the manager that the new paint colour was not acceptable.

“We are hopeful that an agreement has now been reached regarding an acceptable colour and we are awaiting a submission for that colour in order to formally agree it. We very much hope that a negotiated solution will be reached and that no further enforcement action by the Council will be necessary.

“We are also investigating signage that has been added to the building and some interior alterations to the Angel. Investigations into these alterations are ongoing.”

Hotel manager Robert Jackson told the BBC that the celebrity chef had expected the pink to be a darker shade.

“There are a few properties around the village that have that traditional deeper ‘Suffolk pink’ and that’s what Marco initially wanted, so the colour is going to be changed more in line with a few other pinks around the village,” Jackson said.

The Grade II listed building was first licensed in 1420 and was bought by Pierre White two years ago. He has previously upset locals by refusing to sell lager in the pub in case it “encouraged the wrong sort of people”.