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Committee Date: 21/08/2014 Application Number: 2014/04748/PA

Accepted: 01/07/2014 Application Type: Advertisement

Target Date: 26/08/2014

Ward: Ladywood

St Chads Queensway, o/s The Birmingham Dental Hospital, City Centre, Birmingham, B4 6NN

Display of 6 non-illuminated lamppost advertisement banners Applicant: Birmingham City Council

Room 237, Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB Agent: Bay Media Limited

19 Deane House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, Kentish Town, London, NW5 1LB

Recommendation Approve Temporary 1. Proposal 1.1. This application proposes the installation of 6 no. non-illuminated advertisement

banners on lampposts along St. Chad’s Queensway to the rear of the Dental Hospital.

1.2. The banners would be affixed to the lamppost columns 2.8m above ground level (to the base of the advert) and would measure 2.2m in height X 0.79m wide. The banners would be made of PVC which would be affixed top and bottom to arms affixed to the column.

1.3. Since the application’s submission the plan has been amended to better reflect the

positioning of the existing lampposts.

1.4. Consent is sought for a limited period from the 18th August until 31st March 2015. This corresponds with the length of a contract the applicant has entered into with the city in order to pilot the principle of advertising on existing highway infrastructure.

Computer Generated Visual Site Plan

2. Site & Surroundings 2.1. The application site comprises columns on the footway situated adjacent to St.

Chad’s Queensway, which is eight lanes wide at this point. These lighting columns form part of the general highway infrastructure along this main road.

2.2. The wider surroundings are characterised by large scale buildings on the city centre side of the road in use by the Children’s Hospital with a Welsh church to the north.

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Site Location Street View

3. Planning History 3.1. None relevant on the application site, however this application forms one of a

number of such submissions on your committee’s agenda.

4. Consultation/PP Responses 4.1. Transportation Development – Raise no objection but recommend that any banners

projecting towards the carriageway need to be set back a minimum of 500mm from the kerb or positioned at the back of the column away from the carriageway. In addition they have passed on Centro’s concerns regarding the potential to conflict with the extension to the Metro scheme. In addition City Centre Management’s concerns regarding a potential conflict with festive lighting have also been relayed.

4.2. No further representations received. 5. Policy Context 5.1. Birmingham Unitary Development Plan 2005; the submission draft Birmingham

Development Plan; and the National Planning Policy Framework 2012. 6. Planning Considerations 6.1. The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations (2007)

restrict Local Planning Authorities to consider only amenity and public safety when determining applications for consent to display advertisements.

AMENITY

6.2. The NPPF, at policy 67, states that poorly placed adverts can have a negative

impact on the appearance of the built environment. It adds that only those advertisements that will clearly have an appreciable impact on a building to their surroundings should be subject to a Local Authority’s detailed assessment. Finally it states that cumulative impact should be considered.

6.3. The proposed adverts would be in scale with the existing street and would not

dominate the highway environment. The banners would be situated at appropriate locations and would not over-burden the street with advertising. The adverts would read as part of the highway infrastructure and are primarily aimed at motorists rather than pedestrians. I therefore do not consider that the proposals would constitute clutter within the street scene and consider the scale of the proposed advertisement signs acceptable.

6.4. I therefore raise no objection to the proposed adverts on the grounds of public

amenity.

HIGHWAY SAFETY 6.5. The proposed advertisement banners would form part of the highway environment

and an appropriate level of forward visibility is provided in order for drivers to assimilate the contents of the advert without causing highway safety concerns. Such

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banners are not an unusual feature within main highways and therefore would not cause an unacceptable degree of driver distraction.

6.6. Transportation Development raises no objection subject to confirmation that the advertisement panels would be a sufficient distance from the kerb edge so as not to conflict with vehicular traffic. I concur with this conclusion and an appropriate condition is recommended.

6.7. I therefore raise no objection to the proposals on public safety ground subject to the

imposition of a suitable safeguarding condition. METRO

6.8. Centro’s comments regarding the potential to increase the costs of implementing the BCCE extension to the metro scheme are noted. Whilst the city is keen to facilitate the metro extension this would not form a material consideration with the Regulations. I also note the limited period applied for, which would not conflict with the timetable for implementing the BCCE extensions and that this site is not upon any currently consented metro route. Centro’s concerns have been raised with the applicant and officers involved in issuing the contract. FESTIVE LIGHTS

6.9. The concerns raised by City Centre Management are noted; however this is also not a material consideration within the Regulations. Notwithstanding this the city/the applicants are in discussions to ensure that the festive lighting programme is not materially compromised. The banners, as retro-fit items, are flexible and can be removed and re-installed around the festive lighting scheme if needed.

7. Conclusion 7.1. I therefore recommend that this application is granted temporary consent. 8. Recommendation 8.1. Temporary consent subject to the following conditions: 1 The advertisement banners hereby approved shall be situated either at least 500mm

from the kerb edge or no closer to the highway than the existing lamppost to which they are attached

2 Requires the scheme to be in accordance with the listed approved plans

3 Limits the approval until 31st March 2015 Case Officer: Nicholas Jackson

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Photo(s)

Figure 1. View of St Chad’s Queensway

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Location Plan

This map is reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Birmingham City Council. Licence No.100021326, 2010