Appeal 6009161

The appeal is dismissed.

The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 (the Regulations) require that applications for the display of advertisements are considered in the interests of amenity and public safety, taking into account the provisions of the development plan, so far as they are material, and any other relevant factors. Factors relevant to amenity include the general characteristics of the locality, including the presence of any feature of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest.

The appeal site lies within the Brixton Conservation Area (the CA). Section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 applies to the exercise of functions under the Planning Acts. I have therefore had special regard to section 72(1) in so far as it relates to the consideration of ‘amenity’.

The Council’s second reason for refusal states that “the scaffolding with advertisement by reasons of its use, siting, scale and design would fail to prioritise pedestrian movements at a busy section of [address] and is likely to impact the operation of the road network and does not improve road safety for all users”. This appeal solely relates to an application for advertisement consent for a temporary decorative scaffold shroud wrap. Whilst this would be attached to scaffolding, in this instance the temporary scaffolding itself falls outside the remit of the application and appeal. The Council does not suggest that the proposed advertisement for which consent has been sought would have any detrimental effects on public safety.

For the reasons set out above the main issue is the effect of the proposed advertisement on visual amenity, with particular regard to whether it would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the CA.

The appeal property forms part of a handsome, 3-storey, red brick, [name] style terrace with commercial uses on the ground floor and accommodation within an attic level. It is situated within the busy commercial heart of Brixton close to the underground station, bus stops, Lambeth Town Hall, the [name] and the [name]. The terrace of which the appeal property forms part makes a clear and positive contribution to the character and appearance of the CA.

The proposal would comprise the installation of a shroud attached to scaffolding with a 1:1 printed replica image of the appeal property’s frontage above shopfront level. This would wrap around the 2 ends of the scaffolding to a depth of about 1.5m therefore allowing space for building repairs and maintenance of the frontage. A large proportion of the shroud would be occupied by an advertising area measuring about 4.9m high by 9.0m wide which would be illuminated by 3 projecting lights.

National Planning Practice Guidance1 recognises that buildings which are being renovated or are undergoing major structural work and which have scaffolding or netting around them may be considered suitable as temporary sites for shroud advertisements or large ‘wrap’ advertisements covering the face, or part of the face, of a building. In line with the above the Council’s Advertisement & Signage Guidance – January 2016 (ASG) advises that, in the absence of façade refurbishment and/or scaffolding, the display of temporary shroud advertisements would be unacceptable in principle.

The appellant has cited 3 advertisement consent appeals2 where decorative shrouds have been allowed on buildings in this section of [address], one of which I note included the appeal property. I generally concur with my colleague’s view in these cases that suitable temporary decorative shrouds can be visually preferable to scaffolding enclosed with sheeting or netting whilst building works are carried out to renovate the frontage of a building. The earlier appeals were clearly allowed on the understanding that renovation works were needed, would be carried out whilst the scaffolding and shroud were in place and would therefore lead to an enhancement to the character and appearance.

In line with the aforementioned Guidance the Lambeth Local Plan 2020-2035 (2021)3 states that temporary shroud advertisements at high level on scaffolding are generally only considered appropriate in town centre locations and applicants will be required to provide a full schedule of the building works being undertaken and a timescale for those works so that any consent granted can be time limited.

The appellant has not provided a schedule of works or any meaningful information to indicate that renovation works are needed or would actually occur if this appeal 1 Paragraph: 005 [name]: 18b-005-20140306 2 APP/N5660/Z/15/3127966, APP/N5660/Z/19/3233937, APP/N5660/Z/24/3352171 3 Paragraph 10.80 were to be allowed. The fact that prior approval has been gained for the change of use of part of the property does not in itself trigger a need for external works.

In the absence of adequate information to demonstrate that the enhancement of the appeal property would occur the proposal is contrary to the aforementioned guidance and development plan policy which essentially says that shrouds attached to scaffolding may be acceptable during renovation and building works.

I therefore conclude that due to its size and prominent location the proposal would have an unacceptable effect on the visual amenity of its surroundings and fail to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the CA.

I have taken into account the policies cited in the Council’s reason for refusal which seek to protect amenity and are therefore material in this case. [name] have concluded that the proposal would harm amenity, it follows that it conflicts with these policies.

For the reasons set out above, and having regard to all other matters raised, I conclude that the appeal should fail.