'Why so blue?' Sydney council accused of bullying elderly man over house colour

Sydney City Council stands accused of bullying an 88-year-old man over the colour of his home.

After dismissing all offers of a compromise, the council has ordered the elderly man has to repaint his house immediately, or face the consequences.

The embattled home owner, Charles Abdullah, purchased his home in Douglas Street, Redfern, in 1955 and he still has the deed to prove it.

"That house belongs to me. It doesn't belong to the council,” Abdullah told 7 News about the decision by council.

"They're trying to be dictators, like a bully,” he continued.

In a bid to rejuvenate the property, Charles chose the colour blue.

It was from there the trouble began, despite the fact that both the tenant and neighbour love the colour.

"If he wants to paint his house blue and white, he should have the right to,” Francesca Ebeli his neighbour told 7 News.

However Sydney City Council disagrees and have only provided a selection of specific earthy colours that are able to be used on the exterior of the property.

The colours are earthy tones and hark back to a bygone era, in keeping with the original brick finishes from Douglas Street in 1948.

"It's insane and bureaucratic bullying,” Mick Abdullah told 7 News.

However the family did make an offer of compromise to the council.

"I thought I'd like to go with dark grey because it would contrast with the white,” Mark said.

However grey was forbidden as well.

Confusingly, the blue residence isn’t the only one in the neighbourhood that doesn’t exactly stick to Sydney Council's 'nouveau heritage' vision.

Nearby there is a home that’s purple with a red door, another that’s grey with a yellow door, and lastly a pastel pink home, however the only reason Council is not taking action against them is that nobody has complained about them yet.

Ironically, surrounding the blue residence are homes that are dilapidated and squalid, how ever seemingly their colours are ‘earthy’ so they make the grade.

Also across the street is a strip of modern apartments that look anything but heritage.

"It's just ludicrous because what it is is actually 'pseudo heritage'. It's not real,” Mick said.

Clover Moore's Council says it will seek an amicable arrangement with the Abdullahs, presumably, as long as they repaint in only council colours, at their own cost.

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