**Document:** Officer Report **Application:** 16/00949/D — Erection of a digital advertisement board **Decision:** Refused **Decision Date:** 2017-01-16 **Parish:** Braddan **Document Type:** report / officer_report **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/22761-braddan-44-strand-street-signage/documents/1025951 --- # Officer Report **Application No.:** 16/00949/D **Applicant:** Carrera Digital Ltd **Proposal:** Erection of a digital advertisement board **Site Address:** 44 Strand Street Douglas Isle of Man IM1 2EG Case Officer : Mr David Cooper **Site Visit:** 02.09.2016 ## Officer’s Report 1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site relates to a building occupying a corner plot at the corner of and fronting Strand Street a pedestrianised thoroughfare and Howard Street a cul-de-sac. - 1.2 The application relates to the upper portion of the southern elevation fronting Howard Street. The elevation is that of a traditional building measuring approximately 8.6 metres in height that has an existing traditional sign located above the traditional shop front measuring approximately 2.3 metres by 2.9 metres and is formed by a stucco moulding which frames the existing placard which at the time of the site visit was blank. The moulding sits within an elevation that is treated with rough render and quoins to the headers and reveals of the upper floor windows and at the corners of the building. The coating is painted. - 1.3 The traditional shop front sits at a height of approximately 2.9metres and consists of a stall riser, pilasters and a traditionally proportioned sign across the pelmet of the shop front. The shop front is painted white and the windows house adverts relative to the existing travel firm. - 1.4 There is no record of a specific consent for the current advertisements at 44 Strand Street relating to Richmond Travel albeit deemed consent under Class 2 of schedule 3 Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 allows for certain adverts to be displayed on a wall containing a shop window subject to conditions. - 1.5 The façade is openly visible within the streetscene and would be visible from the Loch Promenade to the East. - 1.6 There are normally a mix of uses at the site however the hairdresser has recently vacated the upper floors and they are be utilised for storage by the ground floor tenant, a travel agents. - 1.7 The signage along this portion of Strand Street is restricted to reasonably proportioned shop front signage and small projecting signs at a height that would be considered appropriate for the height of the existing shop fronts. The upper floors of the surrounding buildings are free from the interruption of signage and represent a predominantly subsidiary element to the established retail shopping frontages within the street scene. 2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposal relates solely to the erection of a digital screen for the display of visual references of unknown companies albeit the display will not be solely for the display of adverts relating to the existing occupants within the building to which the screen would be affixed. 2.2 The proposed digital display as indicated on the submitted plan, measures approximately 2.56 metres in width by 1.933 metres in height. No details of the projection are submitted with the application although a photograph of a similar display submitted with the application shows that the proposal is in no way two dimensional with the display having a considerable projection. 2.3 Therefore the specific dimensions relating to the bulk of the projection and the massing of the proposed digital screen are absent in the application. - 2.4 While the proposal denotes the use of the building as retail units, in reality the uses are mixed Class 1 Shops with the upper portion of the building formerly a hairdressers being vacant. - 2.5 The existing advertising hoarding measures approximately 2.0 metres in height by approximately 2.8 metres in width. ## - 3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The Island Development Plan THE ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN 2016 Towards a Sustainable Island forms the development plan for the Isle of Man. - 3.2 At Page 34 Para 6.6 Advertisements: - 3.2.1 'Para: 6.6.1 The Department controls the display of advertisements in the interests of amenity or public safety, under the Control of Advertisements Regulations 2005'. - 3.2.2 'Para: 6.6.2 Within our towns and villages, well designed and sensitively sited advertisements can contribute positively to the character of a building or area, and can be of help to the general public. However, advertisements which are too bright, overlarge or poorly sited may endanger safety by distracting or confusing highway users and may, both individually and cumulatively, detract from amenity by being intrusive, by introducing clutter and visual confusion or by masking features of interest or attraction'. - 3.2.3 'General Policy 6: Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements will be permitted on the site or building to which they relate provided they: - (a) are of a high standard of design and materials and relate well to the building and site on which they are to be displayed; - (b) are in keeping with and do not detract from the surrounding area; and - (c) are located so as not to cause a highway safety hazard'. - 3.2.4 'General Policy 7: Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements on sites or buildings other than those to which they relate will not generally be permitted'. ## - 4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Permitted 84/01313/C - Use of premises as Travel Agency, 44 Strand Street, Douglas - 4.2 Permitted 85/00475/B - Formation of Travel Agency including installation of new shopfront and erection of sign, former Bookshop, 44 Strand Street, Douglas ## - 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Representation from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highways Division: - 5.1.1 "No Highways Interest The proposal is for an electronic advertising sign on the side of a building. The sign will operate in a predominantly [pedestrianised] area and therefore will have very little impact on driver behaviour." ### 5.2 Douglas Borough Council - - 5.2.1 "I would advise that the committee agreed that the Council would support the proposals shown in the application with the following conditions:- - 5.2.1.1 1) This specific case would not necessarily set a precedent for the Council's response to proposals for digital advertising boards in other location[s] and situations; - 5.2.1.2 2) A request[,] be submitted to the Planning Directorate to impose a condition that the advertising board is switched off from midnight until the following morning to reduce light pollution." ## - 6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The Governmenty's Strategic Pan is explicitly clear in how it expects applications for advertisements to be considered. Those adverts that relate to the uses of the building to which they are attached are generally seen as being reasonable. Advertisements that are not related to the land or building to which they are attached are generally not acceptable. The reasoning for this is obvious - if adverts are acceptable on land that is unrelated to them, then there wold be no restrictions on adverts and this would lead to an unwarranted proliferation of adverts that would compromise the tidyness and attractiveness of town and villages. - 6.2 The policies within the Strategic Plan by reason of their wording aim to limit the effect of clutter by limiting the opportunities for a harmful degree of mixed messages by way of insisting that an advertisement be relative to a business housed in the building or on the land subject of the application for advertisement consent. While the Policies of the Strategic Plan relating to advertisements are listed above, General Policy 7 applies to this application strictly. The Policy, which states, "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements on sites or buildings other than those to which they relate will not generally be permitted." 6.3 The application site relates to a property occupying a corner plot at the corner of and fronting Strand Street a pedestrianised thoroughfare and Howard Street. The proposal aima at installing a large digital screen at the first floor level. The photograph submitted by the applicant shows an example of such a display - this is a bulky strident form of advertisement with the primary focus of providing a myriad of mixed messages using the most strident of media. - 6.4 The façade is openly visible within the streetscene and would be visible from the Loch Promenade to the East. - 6.5 Given that the application site consists of an existing single business use on the ground floor with an arguably full set of existing advertisements around and within the established shop front, the introduction of a digitally generated visual display with media not related to the established business at close proximity to that existing array of advertisements would ultimately amount to a cluttered and confusing appearance which would be at odds with the aforementioned policy and cause harm to the established street scene. ### 7.0 Recommendation 7.1 It is assessed that the proposal would give rise to a strident incongruous feature that would be at odds with the street scene and would give rise to unwarranted clutter contrary to General Policy 7. - 7.2 It is the concluding recommendation that Advertisement Consent be refused. 8.0 PARTY STATUS By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons: - (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; - (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; - (c) Persons to whom notice has been given under regulation 10(3)(a)(i) - (d) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material; - (e) The Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; - (f) The Ports Division of the Department of Infrastructure; - (g) The operator of the railway or tramway; and - (h) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated. With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the word 'Department' to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order. Recommendation Recommended Decision: Refused Date of Recommendation: 11.01.2017 R 1. The application seeks consent for a digital hoarding to display generic advertisements unrelated to the building upon which it is to be attached. The proposal would display a variety of changing digital images giving rise to unwarranted clutter that would detract from the appearance of the area and be contrary to General Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation. Decision Made : Refused Date : 16.01.2017 Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE Jennifer Chance Director of Planning and Building Control ## Customer note ## This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records. --- *Data sourced from the Isle of Man public planning register under the [Isle of Man Open Government Licence](https://www.gov.im/about-this-site/open-government-licence/).* *Canonical page: https://planningportal.im/a/22761-braddan-44-strand-street-signage/documents/1025951*