Digital advertising sign next to former pub rejecting by planning inspectorate

The Planning Inspector has thrown out an appeal to install a large digital advertising sign at a former pub near Wrexham city centre.

The Welsh Government planning inspector rejected a bid to place a 48 sheet LED screen outside the former Hand Inn Hotel on Holt Road heading towards the city centre, on grounds of visual amenity.

But the inspector, Nia Jones, has granted plans for the installation of a similar sign outside the Anise restaurant on Smithfield Road near Eagles Meadow in the city centre after appeal.

The applicants Alight Media Ltd, who are behind both applications, appealed against Wrexham Council’s original planning decision to turn down the plans earlier this year.

In a lengthy appeal statement for the Holt Road application, they said: “Digital advertisements of the size and design proposed in the application are now a common sight on arterial roads in most urban areas.

“There are now over 1,000 48 sheet digital display sites in operation across the UK, ranging from cities as large as London and Cardiff to towns as small as Ilfracombe and Rhyl.

“The appeal proposal is therefore considered to be consistent with current market requirements and planning developments.

“Many of these consented sites are to be found in locations similar to the appeal site, particularly where there is a mix of uses including an element of residential use, and where the highway has an open and spacious feel.”

But outlining her reasons in writing for dismissing the appeal, planning inspector Ms Jones said it would harm visual amenity.

“The appeal site is located on Holt Road, which is a wide and busy transport corridor leading towards the town centre”, she said.

“In contrast, the proposed advertisement unit would be a large and conspicuous feature in the streetscene.

“Seen from the junction of Hullah Road, its appearance would be of a substantial freestanding structure, prominent on its open site. Due to its length and height, the unit would dominate the view of the close form of the terrace of dwellings at Borras Road behind it.

“In the reverse view from Borras Road towards Holt Road, the unit would rise up above existing boundary features, where its tall and wide expanse would be at odds with the simple and compact scale of the terraced dwellings opposite.

“I saw that the highway is wide and well-lit and that some commercial premises within the central triangle have illuminated static advertisements, which would be visible from some nearby dwellings when in operation. Although directly visible from fewer dwellings to the south due to its intended orientation, the proposed advertisement unit would nevertheless be continuously illuminated.

“It would continually display consecutive images and whilst I acknowledge night-time luminance levels could be controlled by condition, these features, together with its large scale, would make the unit more prominent than existing commercial signage nearby.”

In granting the application for the board outside the Anise restaurant, Ms Jones said: “Although there are houses nearby, they are part of a wider mixed-use area which also includes small commercial units. Whilst the display unit would be a large feature, there would be little direct view of it from residences.

“The unit would be separated from nearest houses by the adjoining restaurant and roundabout. The intended siting is in an active and well-lit commercial situation.”

She added: “The proposed display would change no more often than every ten seconds and would contain no moving images thereby avoiding visual clutter. Consequently, it would not appear as an intrusive element in its commercial context.

“I conclude that the proposal would not harm visual amenity interests.”

The decision is subject to conditions which include that no individual advertisement on the LED screen will contain moving images, animation, intermittent or full motion video images, or any images that resemble road signs or traffic signals.

By Rory Sheehan – BBC Local Democracy Reporter