Edinburgh woman paints her pink door green after being told it doesn't suit World Heritage Site

Edinburgh council ordered change of colour and threatened fine of up to £20,000

The woman whose pink front door in Edinburgh’s New Town hit headlines around the world has had it repainted green after the city council ruled it was out of character with the Capital’s World Heritage Site.

Miranda Dickson inherited the three-storey Georgian house in Drummond Place from her parents four years ago and has carried out major redecoration inside. The last part of the project was painting the front door champagne pink in December 2021, but that prompted an enforcement order last year from the council and the threat of a fine of up to £20,000.

At the time the 49-year-old objected: “Georgians loved pink. In that era all the windows were painted grey or black, and people had different coloured front doors.” And she said she had received “overwhelming support” from people saying the door was “amazing". Instagrammers often snapped pictures of the pink front door, which also got its own social media account. And the story was picked up by news organisations around the world.

Miranda Dickson outside her her pink door in Drummond Place. Picture: Courtesy of Miranda Dickson/SWNS

Ms Dickson lost an appeal against the enforcement notice and was given a deadline of April 20 to repaint the door. The council wanted it to be white. She said at first that if she had to change the colour she would choose dark red, but eventually she settled on green. She said she had had to apply for planning permission and the change of colour had cost her almost £500.

She told the BBC: "I don't understand why it has caused them to be so angry, I can't understand that emotion about the colour of a door.” She said the pink front door was the “external vision” of her interior redecoration. "So to be forced to change it has left me feeling saddened and disappointed. I'm upset by all the energy and opinion it has caused and I now feel I am closing a chapter and putting it to bed, although I don't feel peaceful about it."

She said she had never been allowed to wear pink as a child but then began using the colour to express herself. The house also features a pink hall and stair carpet.