Albury's Amcal pharmacy gets a makeover to Priceline on Dean Street

Albury Council has not yet made an order against Priceline pharmacy but a spokesman said it was recommended that pharmacy owner Amanda Ward re-paint the above-awning facade so it was "sympathetic to the architectural style of the building and its immediate surrounding area".

"That could be in a lighter shade to suit the character of the building," the spokesperson said.

The building is pink from top to bottom to reflect the rebranding of the pharmacy from Amcal to Priceline.

Ms Ward said she made an honest mistake with painting the building pink, including the awning area, before finding out whether her application had been approved.

She did not believe the application would be denied, pointing to several other shops with bold, bright colours along Dean Street.

But the council said it was important that store owners identified acceptable colours before undertaking works.

It said that to meet the exemption, such works must be of a minor nature that would "not adversely affect the heritage significance of the heritage item and heritage conservation area".

Service leader for city development David Christy said Ms Ward's shop was within the Dean Street Conservation Area.

"There are many beautiful heritage buildings in Albury, and it's important to preserve and enhance their historical importance," Mr Christy said.

Part of the Albury Local Environment plan states: "Paint in sympathy with the character of the building, possibly highlighting the significance of window features."

Mr Christy said that before undertaking any works on a heritage-listed building, specifically regarding colour schemes, an application must secure the council's approval.

"This may include the completion of a heritage assessment to identify the potential impacts of the works (including appropriate colours) to suit the character of the building," he said.

Ms Ward said she was conforming to Priceline brand standards and "whilst I understand the need to preserve heritage buildings I was of the understanding the building lease isn't included given the council allowed the owner to make structure changes making two buildings into one".

She also mentioned it was confusing when "you're allowing a blue building and not allowing a pink, let alone the rest of the street".

Ms Ward said this was discriminatory given the amount of interesting changes made throughout the years to different buildings on the street. She said if the council was rejecting applications based on colours, it would "diminish business owners and leave a main street empty".

"People won't want to put their shops there if they can't brighten them up and draw the people in," she said.

Ms Ward said while the council had not approved her application, it had not enforced her to change the colour as yet.

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