Appeal 6003888

The appeal is dismissed.

The Advertisement Regulations require that proposals for express consent be assessed in terms of their effect on amenity and public safety. The Council has referred to a number of policies in the development plan, and I have taken these into account, but only insofar as they are relevant to matters of amenity and public safety.

The main issue is the effect of the proposed digital display on the visual amenity of the area.

[address] North is a busy thoroughfare linking Manchester and Stockport. The road passes through areas of mixed and varied character, but in the vicinity of the appeal site, the predominant land use is residential. Flats and houses line both sides of this section of [address] North, and [address], the side street which runs immediately to the rear of the appeal site, is also residential. Most of the buildings here are two or three storey, retaining a domestic scale and character to this area, despite the presence of the major road.

Advertisements in the wider area are mostly signs on shops and businesses, and relate to the uses they serve. There are examples of large bill-board style advertisements nearby, including those at the signalised junction with [address]. However, the uses surrounding those signs are predominantly commercial. In the immediate vicinity of the appeal site, large scale illuminated signs such as the proposed digital display are not a common or characteristic feature.

Adjacent to the appeal site is the former [name] building, now occupied by [name] fish and chip shop. The former [name] is an imposing, two storey brick building, identified as a non-designated heritage asset (NDHA) by the Council. The entrance to the current fish and chip shop use, at the side of the building, has been modified significantly. However, the former [name] primary elevation along the main road frontage appears largely unaltered, and retains many of its original features, including signage across the top of the building. The former [name], along with the large brick warehouse buildings a short distance away, are clear reminders of the area’s industrial past, and add historical and visual interest to the area.

The proposed digital sign would be sited on the blank side elevation of a traditional detached building, separated from the fish and chip shop entrance by a small car park. The proposed sign, which would be in an elevated position reaching almost to the eaves height, would appear out of scale, and would dominate this modest building.

The appeal building is set at an angle to [address] North, and the sign would face traffic moving in a north westerly direction, towards Manchester. This section of the road is straight, so the sign would be seen from some distance away. When nearing the site, it would be seen in the context of the residential buildings on either side of the road, and the primary elevation of the former [name].

Paragraph 141 of the National Planning Policy Framework notes that the quality and character of places can suffer when advertisements are poorly sited. In this case, the proposed digital display with changing images would draw attention away from the former [name]. Owing to its close proximity, the modern, digital display would detract from the historic appearance of the NDHA, causing harm to the character of the area.

The brightness of the screen would be controlled in accordance with industry standards, and in bright daylight it would resemble a traditional paper sign. Controls would avoid glare and light nuisance to nearby residents, but in dull conditions and at night, the screen would appear bright compared with its surroundings.

[address] North is a busy route with regular street lights, but highways infrastructure and car headlights are likely to be the primary source of lighting in the vicinity of the appeal site. The adjacent chip shop is open into the evening, and the building will be internally lit, but this will mainly be apparent at the shop entrance, on the side of the building. Lighting associated with the chip shop will not be particularly obvious when approaching the sign along [address] North. The lack of other large scale commercial signage in this location means that the proposed illuminated display would be an unexpected feature on this section of the road. The sign would appear out of place here, and would be at odds with the subdued, residential character of the area, particularly in the evening and nighttime.

For these reasons, I conclude that the proposed sign would cause harm to the visual amenity of the area. Whilst not determinative, the proposal would relate poorly to the site’s context in relation to surrounding buildings, so would not comply with Policy SIE-1 of the Stockport Core Strategy Development Plan Document 2011.

With appropriate controls in place, which could be secured by conditions, the proposed sign would not cause undue distraction to drivers or other road users. It would be acceptable in terms of public safety, but this would not outweigh the harm to amenity described above.

For the reasons set out, the proposed sign would cause harm to the visual amenity of the area, and would detract from the character of the former [name], a NDHA. The appeal is therefore dismissed.