THE owner of an Indian restaurant is being forced to reverse his makeover of the premises – after a member of the public complained to the council that the original beams had been painted over.
The award-winning Nizam restaurant has been a fixture on the High Street for 25 years and its décor was brightened up in a £6,000 makeover last September.
But despite positive feedback from customers, Mid Sussex District Council has given owner Salim Choudhury only two weeks to turn the painted beams back to black at the grade II listed building.
Mr Choudhury, 52, of Acorn Close, said: “I find it very strange. Not everyone was happy about the changes, that is true, but it was really dull before and the majority of people have said the new colour makes the restaurant much more pleasant to spend time in.
“The venue has been designed to combine old and new. We do not want to damage the structure – it’s only paint.”
The restaurant was notified by the council on April 22, and given a deadline to carry out the work by of May 6.
Mr Choudhury said it would cost £4,000 to undo the renovation, and is now considering seeking legal advice. He said timber does not have a matt black colour naturally and he has vowed fight to keep it the way it is.
He said: “Some of the beams were added much later, so they are not ‘original’ in that sense. I think it was someone from the East Grinstead Society who reported the changes. After that someone from the council came round taking pictures and now I have exactly two weeks to reverse all the hard work we put in.”
Phil Woodgate, a planning enforcement officer for Mid Sussex District Council, said: “This is a grade II listed building and the beams are important to the character of this historic property. Beams in properties from this period are traditionally painted black so we have asked the owners to return the beams to their original state. The issue was reported by a member of the public.”
Chairman of East Grinstead Society, Nic Beale said he didn’t know anything about the issue and it had not been raised at any society meetings. The society has more than 100 members.