A giant digital advertising screen on a main road in Bristol has been granted planning permission despite concerns that “some very provocative perfume ad” before Christmas will distract drivers. Almost 100 people objected to the electronic billboard next to St Philips Causeway near the Days Road waste transfer station.
Campaign group Adblock Bristol held a protest against the plans outside City Hall on the morning of the meeting on Wednesday, November 20. But Bristol City Council ’s development control committee voted by 5-3 to approve the application by French advertising company JCDecaux on the advice of planning officers.
Advertisement consent was granted in 2018 for an identical display but permission had lapsed, and there was no objection from transport officers on road safety grounds, the committee heard. Cllr Paula O’Rourke (Green, Clifton) said: “As part of the conditions, the image could not change any more often than every ten seconds.
“I’m imagining driving up there. It strikes me that it would be impossible to approach it without seeing the image changing. That’s very distracting. I don’t think we should put our drivers in a situation where they are going to be distracted from the safety of the road.
“There is no point comparing information signs with some very provocative perfume ad which will come up just before Chritsmas, which could be very distracting. There are other things in our policy that demonstrate that we don’t want this type of advertising, that we think it’s a loss of amenity and that it’s unsafe.
“We know that the advertising industry uses striking images to attract people’s attention and that is going to take people’s eyes off the road, and I don’t think it’s safe.” A transport officer said they had to assess the application according to government planning rules and that these had been followed.
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Cllr Guy Poultney (Green, Cotham) said that planning guidance in the officer’s report listed the types of adverts that might cause a danger to drivers, including distraction, LED technology and illuminated signs that were visible from the road and changed frequently. He said: “Those strike me as things that all apply to this application that the guidance specifically said are more likely to make it dangerous.”
Cllr Poultney said the officer’s report stated there had been no recent accidents on this stretch of road but he said it was not a particularly easy stretch of road. “There are junctions on this road, there is shared space between motorists and cyclists,” he said.
Cllr Lisa Stone (Green, Windmill Hill) said: “It would be distracting, it would be unsafe.” Cllr Fabrian Breckels (Labour, St George Troopers Hill) said: “We’ve given permission for an even bigger sign in 2016, we gave permission for the same sized sign in 2018 which has now expired.
“There are no grounds to turn it down. There are already big signs on St Philips Causeway.”
Cllr Richard Eddy (Conservative, Bishopsworth) said: “I’m not phobic about such advertising, although I have voted against them where we have evidence about the harm to driving or inappropriate advertising near a school. We don’t have that here.
“Obviously this sort of advertising is an important revenue, it’s also important for information.”
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