Electronic advertising boards “are turning Brighton into Las Vegas” according to one of dozens of objectors to a new board in a residential Brighton street.
Advertising company Clear Channel want to replace the poster and paste billboard on the side of a corner shop in Elm Grove with an internally lit advertising board.
So far 22 objections have been lodged via Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning website and campaigners have the support of Hanover and Elm Grove’s councillors.
Green councillor Elaine Hills said: “I do not think it’s appropriate to replace an enormous 3m x 6m poster billboard with a brightly lit screen of the same size in a residential street. I have therefore objected to the change.
“Many locals oppose it and believe it will add nothing of benefit to the area and will only have downsides.
“The light emitted by the sign will be a nuisance, particularly at night, and could disturb the sleep of residents living in the vicinity.”
Fellow Green councillor Steph Powell has written her objection as she is concerned it will disturb people’s sleep and act as a distraction to driver and pedestrians.
Councillor Powell said: “The city council has declared a climate emergency. We should do everything possible to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.
“Such a sign is completely wasteful of precious natural resources and simply not needed on the corner of a residential road.”
Many of the objections from residents raise the issue of light pollution as well as the impact on traffic.
One person living nearby, whose details were removed on the council’s website, said: “I have a clear view of this board from my living room and my bedroom. I do not want to see more, brightly lit advertising. Especially from my home.
“Elm Grove is RESIDENTIAL and NOT suited to a large, lit billboard advertising more and more products.”
Another comment described electronic billboards as turning Brighton into Las Vegas.
A commenter whose details were redacted on the council’s website raised the issue of funeral processions.
They said: “Brighton council installed speed cushions on Bernard Road as opposed to speed humps as in all the other roads for the stated reason that Bernard Road is the funeral procession route to the cemetery in Hartington Road at the other end of Bernard Road.
“Adding this attention seeking advertising board on a designated funeral procession route is obscene.”
In its application Carter Jonas, acting on behalf of Clear Channel says the electronic board weighs less than a paper one and would reduce the number of journeys to the site as adverts rotate rather than needing to be manually reposted.
It said: “The quality of the image produced will mimic that of a traditional poster, with the overall aim of the project being to replace like for like with no adverse impact on visual amenity.
“Content will be controlled remotely in real time from a Networks Operation Centre and the site will be monitored remotely 24/7 to facilitate responsive maintenance.”
The company also states using electronic rather than printed posters uses fewer resources.
Details of the planning application can be seen by searching for BH2019/02541 on the council’s website at planningapps.brighton-hove.gov.uk
Sarah Lewis, thank you for this informative article! We have already gone from ZERO awareness of this planning application so to many comments On the council website and petition signatures by many many residents who are appalled and concerned about this issue.
At night these can be overly bright, like the green signal from traffic lights. If they were bright during the day, fine, but at night, it needs to be turned down.
These sort of things are fine in the town centre like the one at the top of North road. Residents there would expect noise, traffic and light pollution and so can act accordingly. In a residential area people facing these electronic boards find them dominating their lives. As the owners of the freehold of the property where the board is get a healthy pay off for having them installed perhaps they would like to compensate the neighbours for loss of quality of life.
Good that there is some opposition to this. I find these totally distracting when driving. We already have lots to contend with, and the illuminated, changing signs on things like bus-stops (next to a school!) derail driver concentration.
They should have no place at all.