Orange Lady complaint made
Council finds no case to answer after investigation
AN INVESTIGATION by Charnwood Borough Council has taken place into a complaint that the “Orange Lady” mural on the corner of Ashby Road and Hastings Street, Loughborough, was an advert for the business interests of local entrepreneur and the building’s owner Raff Russo.
The Echo was alerted of the complaint by Nick Hardy who, along with Mr Russo, is part of the Ladybird Collective street art initiative which is creating an art trail of murals in town, painted by local artist Buber Nebz, such as the Paula Radcliffe tribute in Pinfold Gate.
The Orange Lady, which was also painted by Buber Nebz, but back in 2017, had already been created before the initiative was unveiled.
Mr Hardy told the Echo that his understanding was that the basis of the complaint was that somebody had looked at records at Companies House and identified Mr Russo as a shareholder in a business called A Dozen Oranges and that, therefore, the mural could be classed as an advertisement.
But Mr Hardy added: “A Dozen Oranges is a vehicle that owns 10 properties in the city of Hull.
“It has no other interests and no relevance to the town of Loughborough whatsoever. The notion that Raff might wish to use a mural on the side of a building in an unconnected town 110 miles away is farcical.”
After the Echo contacted the borough regarding the issue, a council spokesperson said: “We received a complaint in 2018 that the artwork was an advertisement. We carried out an investigation and concluded that it was not an advertisement under planning regulations as there is no clear and obvious link to a business.
“We received another complaint more recently and have investigated again.
“We have again concluded that the artwork is not an advertisement. We have advised the person responsible for the artwork that people have made complaints and therefore they may wish to make amendments to it, but from a council perspective, no further action will be taken.”
On hearing that the council was not planning to take any action Mr Russo told the Echo that he and Mrs Hardy: “Are grateful that Charnwood Borough Council have chosen to take such a reasonable and level-headed approach to this somewhat needless complaint, and we are grateful for this happy outcome.
“This is a popular and well established artwork and any attempt to link its subject matter to a small, non-consumer company in a city over 100 miles away is nonsense.
“It is reassuring to see that the council investigate such complaints so diligently, and that those without substance are dismissed.”