How the house in Gibson Square looked before it was repainted white

RESIDENTS living in a Georgian garden square say they have been left bemused by the scale of media interest in a neighbour painting their house black.

The Tribune spoke to residents in Gibson Square, a few minutes from Angel tube station, about the much-reported outrage over the work on the property.

The Grade II-listed houses in the square are all painted white and owner Edmund Curtin ran foul of planning rules when he gave his a dark makeover.

He has since whitewashed the changes but the case was part of animated reporting by The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and the London Evening Standard.

One resident, who has lived in the square for 18 years, told the Tribune this week: “Some people quoted in the Telegraph were saying ‘it was outrageous, it ruined my life’. I think that was a bit much. It’s just not the end of the world – there’s worse things happening in the world, and probably worse things happening in Islington.”

Gibson Square is located within the Barnsbury conservation area, meaning residents must apply for permission from Islington Council to make significant changes to their houses.

Mr Curtin lost an appeal to the planning inspectorate and the national reporting of the case featured claims that there had been major bust-ups between neighbours.

But another resident, who has lived in Gibson Square for two years, said: “I don’t really care what anybody paints their house. We think this is such a funny little joke. It’s nice to have the uniform houses, but also … whatever.”

The house has now been returned to its original white façade after the council told the owners they must maintain the surrounding character of the square.

Some residents sympathise with the owners, with one saying: “The fact that someone would have to repaint their house after they’ve bought it – it would frustrate me if I was the owner because I’ve paid for the house and now I’m being forced to conform to some other opinion of how it should look.”

But the same resident’s partner said they understood the upset caused by the black-painted house.

“It’s a fine balance,” they said. “One of the reasons that attracts buyers to this area is because people maintain a certain level of historical integrity.”

Another avenue of debate stemmed from whether or not the new colour looked good.

A resident who spoke to the Tribune said: “I think if it looked good maybe I wouldn’t care as much, but I think it looks better white to be honest!”

But another neighbour added: “Honestly it was a really classy grey.

“If all the houses were different colours it would actually look quite nice – but they’re not so I
agree they shouldn’t have done it.”