Council Refuses Two Large Advertising Displays On M4
Rooftop LED screens 'harm the amenities of local area'
Hounslow Council has refused permission for two large LED advertising displays on the roof of a four storey building by the elevated section of the M4 near B & Q by the border of Brentford and Chiswick.
The application for 3 Great West Road, had requested retrospective permission for hoardings 7.5m x 3.5m to display commercial advertising for a period of ten years. There are currently two existing LED advertising hoardings on the top of the four-storey office block.
These displays have allegedly been in place since 2015 but remain unauthorised. Consent was granted on appeal in 2011 for the creation of two curved signs on the roof of the building for a five-year period; however, this permission has now lapsed and, had related to adverts of a smaller scale, where the frequency of advert changes was restricted to no more than once in a 24-hour period and the displays were static.
The frequency of changes is now to be every ten seconds with a three second phasing out and replacement period between each ten second display.
The advert is visible not just on the elevated M4 section but further afield, including the Wellesley Road Conservation Area, the B and Q carpark and Gunnersbury Park.
The Council pointed out that the M4 in this section is
comprised of 2 lanes, on a curve in the road, with a maximum speed limit
of 40mph. It is an area where drivers need to take
particular care.The section of the A4 has three lanes, with a maximum
speed limit of 40 mph, where drivers need to get into the correct lane
for travel ahead.
Transport for London, Highways England and Hounslow Highways were consulted
on the scheme and raised no objection to the proposal on public safety
grounds.
However, Highways England requested that consent should not be allowed for a period exceeding five years and requested conditions if approval was granted. Hounslow Highways also did not object but requested a report from a qualified lighting engineer to demonstrate that drivers will not be distracted by the LED rooftop advertising.
The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007, states that the display of outdoor advertisements can only be controlled in the interests of ‘amenity’ and ‘public safety’. The Council noted that the current retrospective proposal was for a far larger and more dominant pair of adverts than previously given consent for. The Council report remarked that there were "significant amenity concerns which arise from the display change frequency and quality of imagery."
The applicant, Mass Media Advertising, Manchester, said that the brightness of the illuminated lighting would be at a level where drivers would not be distracted, and there would be no adverse impact on highway safety. There would be a light sensor attached to the controlling system to ensure that the display did not prejudice the amenities of the locality or the conditions of general safety along the highway.
"Whilst the applicant states that the adverts are static and therefore do not pose any significant visual harm, it was noted whilst on a site visit that the display was flickering repeatedly and of a very low quality. This, combined with the level of illumination and scale of the adverts, has resulted in harm to the character of both the immediate and more distant surroundings" said Hounslow Council.
They continued, "It is therefore considered that the advertisements are harmful to the amenities of the local environment owing to their scale, position and illumination within direct view of surrounding residential areas, parkland and highways. The ten-year consent being sought is also excessive and would be highly inappropriate should residential or other developments come forward to the north or east of the site in coming years. The proposal is therefore contrary to the intent of Local Plan Policies CC1, CC4 and CC5."
The Council said the ten year consent being sought was
excessive and would be highly inappropriate should residential or other
developments come forward to the north or east of the site in coming years.
May 31, 2019