Neighbours see red over turquoise Buddhist temple
WHEN Buddhists in the Worcestershire beauty spot of Malvern refreshed their temple’s paintwork, they never dreamed it would cause an almighty row with the council.
But the recently renamed Bright Earth Buddhist Temple in Worcester Road may be forced to repaint parts of the temple from turquoise back to red if plans are not backed by Malvern Hills District Council.
The new paintwork was applied to the 200-year-old listed former guest house without planning permission last year, so the Buddhists have been forced to apply for retrospective permission.
Buddhists said they painted it turquoise because it is the colour of the Earth from space.
But a nearby resident objected, calling the new colour “garish”.
They face having to return the temple to its original colour if the plans are not approved.
The historic building became a Buddhist temple in 2015, but last year its religious affiliation changed from the Amida Shu religious community and became independent temple.
The name was changed from Amida Mandala Buddhist Temple to Bright Earth Buddhist Temple.
Buddhists have submitted a statement with the application saying the brighter colour represented “change and a new beginning”.
“It has been important to show a clear differentiation from that community since then: hence the change of name, new sign and temple logo and so on,” it said.
“In Buddhist colour theory turquoise represents awakening and wisdom. For this community – where there is a strong impulse for taking care of the Earth – the blue also stands for the predominant colour of the Earth as seen from space.”
“The proposed works will restore the integrity of the render and restore the appearance of the front of the building into a good condition.
“The new highlight colour is an attractive highlight to the existing building and does not detract from any special interest of the site.”
But one objector in Worcester Road said: “Whilst I appreciate the application is from a Buddhist temple and turquoise is a colour they use, I feel the turquoise colour is not at all in keeping with the surrounding buildings in the road. It is far too bright and gives a rather garish appearance to the building.
“All other buildings are painted in much more subdued colours which reflect how the buildings would have been when originally constructed. I’d like to see this maintained in the appearance of all the buildings, regardless of their purpose.”