Paphos municipality forced to stop painting the town grey

A red-faced Paphos Municipality triggered a public outcry when painting historic neoclassical buildings in the centre of town a dirty grey colour as part of their maintenance, instead of the original beige.

The general outrage forced Paphos mayor Phedon Phedonos to halt painting the well preserved ‘Lyceum A’ school, which is situated in the town centre.

The municipality had already started painting the school ash grey in a makeover that shocked onlookers.

Paphos Municipal Council members and the town’s school board also came out against the town hall’s decision to paint over the neoclassical buildings in dull grey, rubbing out the characteristic soothing cream tones of the buildings.

The school board threatened legal action against the municipality and to report the incident to government authorities.

It argued that painting the buildings in a dark grey altered the nature of the historic buildings and “is out of sync with the area’s architectural character”.

“The decision to paint the building grey was, at the very least, inept and inappropriate, especially since we have not been informed about neither the intention of changing the colour of the historical lyceum nor the process that would follow,” a statement by the school board said.

It called the Department of Antiquities to take a stand on the architectural blunder.

Following the adverse reactions, it was decided to prepare new paint samples to find the appropriate colours for the three neoclassical buildings on Grivas Digeni Avenue.

The neoclassical buildings are situated in the centre of the coastal town, opposite the town hall.

Reportedly, Phedonos called an emergency teleconference to discuss alternative plans for the school with the town’s director of urban planning and conservation department officials at the Interior Ministry.

Although it is unclear who thought painting the town grey was a good idea.