Planning town and country

Advertisements

What is an advertisement?

An advertisement can be any of the following:

Posters and notices
Placards and boards
Fascia signs and projecting signs
Pole signs and canopy signs
Models and devices
Advance signs and directional signs
Estate agents’ boards
Captive balloon advertisements (not balloons in flight)
Flag advertisements
Price markers and price displays
Traffic signs
Town and village name-signs.

Memorials and railway signals are not advertisements.

The different groups of advertisements

- Advertisements that are excluded from the local planning authority’s control.

- Advertisements that have a ‘deemed consent’ so the local planning authority’s consent is not needed if the advertisement is within the rules.

- Advertisements where the local planning authority’s ‘express consent’ is required (you need to submit an application).

The following powers can provide for a stricter control over advertisements. The Council can:

- Define an Area of Special Control of Advertisements to conserve the visual amenity in terms of its scenic, historical, architectural or cultural features in the rural area.

- Remove from a particular site or a defined area the deemed consent normally provided by the rules.

- Require a particular advertisement or use of a site for displaying advertisements to be discontinued.

Further information on the advertisement control system is outlined in the 'Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007' and the 'Circular 03/2007: Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007'.

The process for advertisement applications

The Council through the Planning and Housing Services Department is responsible for the operation of the advertisement control system through deciding if the advertisement should be permitted or not and/or where an application is in breach the Council may take enforcement action to remove it. Each advertisement application is considered on its own merits and the case officer will take into account the impact of the advertisement on the amenity of the immediate neighbourhood and public safety.

It is recommended you check with the Planning Enquiries Officer if you need to apply for advertisement consent. The Planning Enquiries Officer can be contacted Monday-Friday between 8:45 – 12:30 by coming into the Town Hall or calling on 01234 221798.

If you are required to apply for an advertisement application please complete the application form below and send the completed form with plans and the appropriate fee by cheque to ‘Bedford Borough Council’, Planning Services, Town Hall, St Paul’s Square, Bedford, MK40 1SJ.

The fees for advertisements are as follows:

Advertisement on business premises - £95

Advance signs directing the public to a business - £95

Other advertisement - £335

Click here for Planning Advertisement Application Forms.

The applicants name and address will form part of the Public Register of applications which the Council publishes on the internet.

If your application has been given consent it normally lasts for five years but this will be confirmed on the decision notice. You may appeal to the Secretary of State if the application is refused or a condition is imposed that you are unhappy or if the application is not determined within eight weeks of the date of the advertisement application.

The standard conditions

The following are the standard conditions that all advertisements must comply with:

- Be kept clean and tidy

- Be kept in a safe condition

- Have the permission of the owner of the site on which the advertisement is displayed (including the Highways Authority where relevant)

- Not obscure or hinder the interpretation of official road, rail or waterway signs or make hazardous the use of these types of transport

- Be removed carefully where required to do so by the local planning authority.

Advertisements in the Conservation Area

Bedford Borough Council has produced a Supplementary Planning Document entitled ‘Shopfronts and Advertisements in Conservation Areas’.

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