Plan for video advertising screen in Lye refused again after site visit
A planned video advertising board in Stourbridge would be a risk to road safety near a busy junction according to planning chiefs.
Permission for the 48-sheet digital advertising screen on Dudley Road, Lye, had already been turned down by Dudley Council but an appeal against the refusal had been lodged with the government Planning Inspectorate.
After a site visit the appeal was dismissed.
In his report, planning inspector Nigel McGurk said: “The proposal would introduce a digital advertisement with frequently changing images in very close proximity to a junction.
“I find that the proposal would run the risk of causing a significant distraction to drivers and thus introducing a risk to highway safety close to a junction where vehicles may be seeking to enter/exit and also, close to a takeaway and to commercial uses, whereby pedestrians may be looking to cross Dudley Road.”
Mr McGurk also concluded the appellant’s reference to other similar advertising boards did not provide a close enough comparison to allow the appeal.
The inspector also supported the council’s view that the screen, which would be sited next to a locally listed nineteenth century building, would be too large and detrimental to the appearance of its surroundings.
In the original refusal of the scheme, Dudley Council planners said: “The proposed LED advertisement screen by virtue of its siting, scale and illumination would have an overly dominant impact upon the street scene, appearing as a strident, intrusive, incongruous and overly dominant feature in the context of its setting.
“The advertisement display would therefore fail to relate to and respect the context of the locality and would be detrimental to the visual amenities of the area and setting of a locally listed building.”
