A repeat application by the developer of the Bath Press site to keep the 88-inch TV screen on top of its sales suite next to a busy crossroads has this week been turned down with the council saying it “prejudices public safety”.
The screen installed at the Bath Press site | Photo © Bath Echo
In August, we reported that City & Country had been refused retrospective advertising consent for the screen, with Bath & North East Somerset Council officers saying it could pose a hazard for motorists at the junction where Windsor Bridge Road, Brook Road and Lower Bristol Road converge.
They also said the backlit changing video and imagery was “at odds” with historic architecture nearby, including the Royal Oak pub and the retained façade of the Bath Press site, and “would not reflect high quality and traditional Georgian townscape, the landscape setting of the city or the carefully managed nature of the overall urban environment.” The impact on nearby homes was also a concern.
City & Country lodged an appeal with the Secretary of State in October, insisting its initial application is acceptable, but in tandem submitted the second advertisement consent application to the council for the TV screen which included some changes to reduce its potential impact.
The developer said a static image had been selected to display between 9pm and 7am to “significantly reduce any risk of distraction to drivers” and be equivalent to any other road sign, with slightly increased visibility.
They also said the video played in the remaining hours had been “significantly slowed down” to pose less of a potential distraction.
The council received six objections to the advertisement, highlighting concerns about it being an unnecessary source of glare and distraction at a busy and complex junction regularly used by drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and that collision data shows five incidents at or close to this junction since 2019.
Objectors also stated that “Bath is a haven away from such gaudy things” and the advert causes visual clutter, light pollution, and a commercial element that is out of keeping with the largely residential surroundings.
In their analysis, council officers acknowledged that the applicant had sought to make changes but those amendments did not materially reduce the harm posed, and they refused the application on the grounds of public safety and amenity.
The decision report notes: “It is a highly commercialised and overtly modern form of advertising, owing to backlit style, changing video, imagery and/or written content, as well as high level of illumination throughout the day and night.
“It is located at an elevated and very prominent position within the townscape, at a crossroads on a main route into and within the city, visible by high numbers of people including adjacent residents from their homes.
“Architecturally, the advert causes an unsympathetic and incohesive appearance due to being located on the roof of the sales office building.
“The digital advert is at odds with the Outstanding Universal Value of the dual-inscribed UNESCO Bath World Heritage Site and would be incongruous within the setting of adjacent historic locally listed buildings including the façade and chimney of the former Bath Press printworks as well as the Royal Oak public house.”
The decision notice adds: “The digital advertising display introduces distracting digital content, in a prominent elevated position three metres from ground level, adjacent to a busy signalised crossroads junction with staged pedestrian crossing.
“There is a history of road traffic collisions at the junction, and higher incidence compared with the surrounding network.
“As a result of position, illumination and video/text content, the advert has the capacity to divert attention and confuse interpretation of signals in a location where full attention and clarity are essential to ensuring safe operation of the highway network.
“The digital advertising display therefore prejudices public safety.”
Meanwhile, the appeal for City & Country’s first application remains in progress.
