A ray of Sunlight has fallen on the people in Aller Park with the news that a £55,000 makeover has been agreed for the CLS Laundry, Decoy.
A sustained campaign by residents and ward councillors, coupled with fresh thinking from the firm which acquired the site two years ago, means that work to tone down the building could start within weeks.
Known locally as The Blot since its construction in 2002, the silver and blue industrial development has for many people ruined a view of rolling green hills.
It has featured on national television and spawned the creation of the Aller Park Residents Action Group.
When the Ombudsman examined the planning process in 2003 he found Teignbridge Council guilty of maladministration.
Officers had inaccurately described the materials to be used and which were different to the brick finish residents had expected.
Now its walls are to be painted a muted mushroom grey and the roof and chimney matt olive green.
It is also set to be renamed Sunlight and its owners to press for lower speed limits in Kingskerswell Road.
The news is a triumph for Cllr Gordon Hook who brokered the deal and secured £10,000 from his county council community fund to help cover the cost.
'This was voted one of the ten worst architectural designs in the south west and I'm delighted that a real eyesore will at last be toned down,' he said.
'I very much hope that the new colour scheme will help to camouflage the building and lessen the grotesque impact it has had on people's lives.'
Residents' representative Les Edgecumbe was equally happy and praised not only Cllr Hook but the Sunlight management.
'They deserve full marks for this as the bottom line is it is something they weren't obliged to do,' he said.
'It has been a long hard battle and we've had no support apart from the three ward councillors. Teignbridge Council is entirely to blame for this and they have done nothing at all to help.'
Sunlight director Martin Roberts said he had been unaware of the long-running dispute when his firm bought the business and he was happy to have struck a deal.
'Yes it's true that we didn't have to do this and we're grateful for the £10,000 brought in by Cllr Hook, in the current economic climate it was a fairly significant contribution.
'The total cost will be £55,000 and I expect the work to be carried out in two phases starting before the onset of winter and resuming again next spring.
'We're delighted with the outcome as I believe we have to live and work with the community and therefore this is the sensible way forward.'
A spokesman for Teignbridge Council said the authority had been in discussions with Sunlight regarding the appearance of the building and supported the work 'in the knowledge that it has the important support of local residents and is sympathetic to the environment'.
He added: 'When Teignbridge referred itself to the Ombudsman in recognition that there was a planning condition omission on the original planning consent, he recognised that the authority had taken considerable steps to mitigate any effects.
'This included substantial additional planting and compensation to the residents action group in recognition of their time and trouble.'