Red and white striped house in Kensington: Owner Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring to appeal council order for fresh lick of paint

Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring gave the townhouse the colourful makeover after the council blocked her plans to demolish the property and rebuild it with a two-storey 'mega-basement'

The townhouse that was painted in red and white stripes by Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring after a planning dispute with her neighbours (Getty )

Situated in one of the most expensive boroughs in London, the quiet yet exceptionally well-appointed cul-de-sac, South End, in Kensington, is home to a privileged few. It was the last word in tastefulness, until April this year, when the owner of No 19, Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring, covered the exterior of her house in red and white candy stripes.

The multi-millionaire property developer decided to give her £15m townhouse the colourful makeover after Kensington and Chelsea council blocked her plans to demolish the property and rebuild it with a two-storey “mega-basement”.

The council has since ordered Ms Lisle-Mainwaring to repaint the building ­– but she dug in her heels and refused to replace the colourful design with a more muted palette, much to her neighbours’ chagrin.

Several months on, Aziz Alshirian, 29, who lives opposite No 19, is still greeted with Ms Lisle-Mainwaring’s headache-inducing paint-job every time he glances out of his window. “This is not a good-looking house,” Mr Alshirian told The Independent. “This is nice area, everything fits in. It is not nice for her to have done this.”

Currently, the house does not appear inhabited – inside, there are cardboard boxes piled up behind grubby windows. Nevertheless, Ms Lisle-Mainwaring has appealed the order for a fresh lick of paint and the case is due to be heard in court next month.

A council spokesman said: “An appeal against a Section 215 notice served by the council requiring the owner of 19 South End to repaint her property will be heard at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court on 15 and 16 December 2015.” The council would not, he added, be commenting further.

Ms Lisle-Mainwaring did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.