Owner of 250-year-old Grade II-listed windmill gave it colourful makeover without permission

Dr Eiddwen Jones, 85, is the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Jones, who she said was the first miller at Llynon mill in 1776.

He managed the property in the village of Llanddeusant, Anglesey, until he died in his nineties.

She said the windmill should be repainted in whitewash as it is a historical building, and traditionally "that's how the mills were".

The author, whose family moved from Anglesey to Flintshire 150 years ago, said she did not agree that the windmill was painted in the first place to celebrate the Eisteddfod.

She has visited the windmill several times throughout her life where Thomas Jones' name is painted inside, and said he "would have turned in his grave, I believe," if he had known about its new appearance.

Jones added that it looked "very impressive in its original colour" when driving towards it.

"It's been made fun of now rather than kept the fact that it was a historical building and that people have been working there for a couple of centuries," she said.

Holt said the mill can be hard to find for visitors, as it is not close to the A55 road.

But the new colours have sparked a lot of interest.

With winters especially proving difficult with fewer people coming, he added: "I have a duty to ensure the future of the mill for the next generation."

He apologised to the local authority, saying he "realises that they [the council] are only doing their job and I know that I have broken the rules".

But he added: "I'm struggling and the winter is hard, but painting the mill has attracted more visitors here and helped me pay the bills."

He is gathering the opinions of visitors to the mill this summer to make a case to the council.

Holt believes the paint he used can breathe - and therefore poses less risk to the listed building.

"The second issue is - have I changed the character of the mill?" he added.

"I argue that I have not done that because there was a great tradition over the centuries of decorating mills to mark special occasions, and I am sure that the first miller here back in 1776 would have painted the mill red, white and green if such paint had been available."

Having seen the benefits of increased tourism this summer, Holt believes the colours are beneficial in terms of keeping the mill viable, and allowing him to keep it open.

Anglesey council has asked him to return it to its original white as soon as possible.

In a statement, it said any future application regarding a listed building would need to be decided according to relevant legislation, planning policy and the local authority's duty to protect the historic environment.

It added that comments from the public would be considered as part of the process.

However, because it is a listed building, heritage considerations would carry significant weight, and public support alone would not be able to determine the outcome of the application, the council said.