Unrestricted outdoor advertising can rapidly accumulate, to spoil the appearance of buildings and land, in both urban and rural locations. Also, any advertisement can cause hazard, either by distracting road users or obstructing their view.
Well-designed advertising in the right place can brighten and enhance an area, and causes no hazard.
Planning control over advertisements exists to balance the need for businesses to advertise with the need to protect amenity and public safety. There is no planning control over the aesthetic, moral or cultural content of advertisements.
Many types of outdoor advertisement on land and buildings need consent from the Council. Others do not need consent. This page gives some general information about the scope of advertisement control, and about the way in which the Council deals with applications for advertisement consent.
The definition of "advertisement", for planning control purposes, is very broad. An advertisement is defined as:
"any word, letter, model, sign, placard, board, notice, awning, blind, device or representation, whether illuminated or not, in the nature of, and employed partly or wholly for the purposes of, advertisement, announcement or direction."
(Town & Country Planning Act, 1990, section 336)
It follows from this that an advertisement does not have to be in words. Pictures, patterns, company logos, diagrams and even flags are considered to be advertisements if they are displayed for the purposes of advertisement, announcement or direction.
Please Note:
Where consent is required, it is an offence to display any advertisement without the Council's consent, or the consent of the owner of the land or building on which the advertisement is displayed. The Council has powers to prosecute those who display advertisements (including fly posters) unlawfully.
Therefore, before displaying advertisements, or allowing someone else to display advertisements on your property, it is best to take advice from the Planning and Transportation Service or some other impartial adviser. It is not prudent to rely on advice given by an advertising contractor who wants to erect a sign on your property.
The Council accepts that businesses need to advertise. Where consent is required, the Council is only concerned that advertisements should not have a harmful impact on:
- the appearance of a building or an area;
- the amenities of people living nearby;
- the safety of the public in general.
The Council's Unitary Development Plan (Policy ENV3.8 & Environment Guidance 5) contains policies and guidance about the display of advertisement hoardings in the Borough, including the Council's general attitude towards hoardings in different types of location.
Please see 
Application and Fee Forms for details of the forms and plans required.
Decisions on applications for advertisement consent are usually made by the Director of the Planning and Regeneration Service under powers delegated to him by the Planning Regulatory Board. There is a right of appeal to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister against the refusal of an application.
Where consent is granted it will normally last for FIVE YEARS. However, the advertisement may remain after that unless the Council serves notice (a "discontinuance notice") on the owner of the sign, requiring its removal.
This will only be done where the surroundings have changed so as to make the advertisement inappropriate in public safety or amenity terms. There is a right of appeal against a discontinuance notice.
For information regarding siting 'A' boards and other signs in the highway please refer to 'Advertising Boards on highways'.
Fees
Planning fees are a type of HANDLING CHARGE: they are intended to reflect the administrative cost to the Council of processing applications. Fees are set by the government, and the Council cannot waive or vary them. There is no VAT on planning fees.
The fee must be paid in full when the application is submitted. Planning fees cannot be refunded if an application is later refused or withdrawn, although a "follow-up" application may be free.
Applications for advertisement consent require flat-rate fees. Applications for hoardings pay a higher fee than applications for signs relating to a shop, company or other business.
The current fees are listed on the Application and Fees Forms page.
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