13 July 2010 · Senior Planning Officer (delegated under Regulation 6(2) of the Control of Advertisements Regulations 2005); refusal upheld by Minister on appeal
Site Bounded By Victoria Street, Lord Street And, Walpole Avenue, Douglas, Isle Of Man, IM1 2sh
The proposal sought retrospective consent for five large advertising hoardings (one 2.43m wide x 1.94m high display area, four 2.4m x 2.4m) made of diabond board on plywood backing with steel and timber frames, erected on the boundary of a temporary car park site near a busy roundabout close to the ferry terminal.
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The Senior Planning Officer refused consent because the hoardings, due to siting, design, materials and prominent location, introduced additional clutter into the street scene and caused serious detri…
General Policy 2
Requires development to respect visual amenities. Assessed as failed: hoardings' siting/design/materials/prominent location introduce clutter, detriment to locality even temporarily.
General Policy 6
Permits ads on related sites/buildings if high design/material standard, in keeping, no highway hazard. Tested but not central to refusal; ads unrelated to car park, poor materials, overly large/clutter.
General Policy 7
External ads on unrelated sites/buildings 'not generally permitted'. Key failure: hoardings advertise Sefton Group hotels etc., not car park; 'generally' allows flexibility but inspector found these unwarranted.
Do not oppose as no traffic management, parking or road safety implications; traffic slow moving and uncomplicated unlike Quarterbridge
Declares interest (prior refusal at Quarterbridge); requests to be informed of decision
Multiple members of the public submitted objections to the retrospective application for five advertising hoardings citing aesthetic concerns, road safety hazards, incompatibility with area improvements, and illegal erection; Highways Division raised no objection.
Key concern: distraction to motorists near busy roundabout creating hazard
Highways Division
No ObjectionDo not oppose has no traffic management, parking or road safety implications; The Highways Division do not encourage the erection of advertising hoardings and each location is assessed on its own road safety implications.; The proposed site is located close to a roundabout, however, traffic is slow moving and uncomplicated unlike Quarterbridge.
The original application for retrospective consent to erect five advertising hoardings on a car park site at the junction of Lord Street, Walpole Avenue and Bath Place, Douglas, was refused by the Senior Planning Officer on 12 July 2010 for being contrary to General Policies 2 and 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 due to siting, design, materials and prominent location introducing clutter and harming visual amenities. The appellant argued the signs were high quality, screened the car park, related to nearby Sefton Group facilities, posed no highway safety risk (as confirmed by Highways Division), and merited temporary consent under the flexibility of GP7. The inspector, after a site visit and inquiry on 9 November 2010, found the hoardings added unacceptable visual clutter unrelated to site features and posed a road safety distraction near a busy tourist arrival roundabout, despite no Highways objection. The Minister accepted the inspector's recommendation on 18 January 2011, dismissing the appeal and requiring removal by 18 March 2011.
Precedent Value
Dismissal emphasises strict control of freestanding hoardings in town centres; even temporary unrelated ads likely fail if adding clutter near junctions, regardless of Highways view. Applicants should prioritise on-site relation and proven non-distraction evidence.
Inspector: John S Turner
