Policy information sourced from the Woking Development Management Policies Development Plan Document (DPD)
DM18: Advertising and signs
Proposals for outdoor advertising will be considered having regard to its effect on the:
- appearance of the building or on the visual amenity in the immediate neighbourhood where it is displayed; and
- safe use and operation of any form of traffic or transport on land (such as pedestrians), on or over water, or in the air.
In Conservation Areas, proposals will only be permitted if they will preserve or enhance particular features of architectural or historic interest.
Advertisement proposals on Listed Buildings or Scheduled Ancient Monuments will constitute an alteration of the building or the monument’s site and therefore will require Listed Building Consent. Any proposals on or close to a Listed Building or Scheduled Monument should preserve and/or enhance the integrity of the building’s design, historic character or structure and should not spoil or compromise its setting.
Advertisement proposals on other heritage assets or areas will only be permitted if they will preserve or enhance particular features of architectural or historic interest.
Poster advertising in the open countryside will only be supported in exceptional circumstances such as agricultural shows or similar events. In these circumstances, the duration of the display will be limited to a suitable period leading to and the duration of the event.
In villages, the scale of poster advertising will depend on the character of the village and the position of the display in relation to surrounding buildings and features.
Proposals for advertisements where lighting is involved will be required to have regard to the Institute of Lighting Professionals Technical Report No.5 (third edition) (or future equivalent) and guidance in the Woking Good Practice Guide on Light Pollution. Proposals will only be permitted where they are in proportion to the rest of the shopfront and the whole building so as not to be the dominant feature.
Where necessary, the Council may impose conditions on an express consent to regulate the display of the advertisement to which the consent relates, or regulate the use for the display of advertisements on the site to which the application relates or any adjacent land under the control of the applicant, or requiring the carrying out of works on any such land.
Conditions may also be imposed requiring the removal of any advertisement or the discontinuance of any use of land authorised by the consent, at the end of a specified period, and the carrying out of any works then required for the reinstatement of the land.
Where it is considered necessary, the Council will use its discretionary powers to serve a discontinuance notice requiring an advertisement display or the use of an advertisement site to stop.
The Planning Practice Guidance sets out the standard conditions for all types of advertisement consent. If the Council wishes to impose additional conditions it will specify the relevant planning reasons on the express consent why the conditions are imposed.
For more information please see the Development Plan Document