Advertising matrix sign over Newcastle central motorway

[Byff]

I find this sign very distracting, can't believe anyone would think that this was a good idea.

With the amount of slip roads joining and leaving that section of the central motorway, the last thing a driver needs is something diverting their attention away from the road.

I feel a petition coming on.

[Byff]

I emailed the roadsafety team at Newcastle council.

Mr Russell Nelson (Business Management Officer) kindly responded:

Russell said:

Thank you for your recent email. Whilst I understand your concerns I would stress that the Council have undertaken the necessary considerations prior to the installation of the screen. This has included examining the impact on public safety.

I can assure you that if it was felt that the sign posed an increased danger to public safety then it would not have received planning permission. As I’m sure you understand it is not in the council’s interest to make our roads less safe.

I can assure you that to secure the relevant planning permission for the site, the issue of public safety was considered very seriously. As part of the planning consent the council received an independent public safety report on the suitability of the site and the potential impact of the sign on driver behaviour. The report felt that the screen shouldn’t have a negative impact. However, I recognise that this is a significant development and as such we will be monitoring this section of road and gathering evidence to review the impact of the sign.

Whilst it is of course the intention that drivers see the screen we do not believe that this should be to the detriment of road safety. There are a number of reasons for that. Roadside advertising and increasingly digital roadside advertising is not a new phenomenon and there are plenty of examples of it in use across the country and within our own city. For example, there is already a digital screen on the side of the Swan House roundabout and traditional billboard that can be seen from the Central Motorway.

Furthermore the terms of the planning permission means that full motion advertisements are not permitted. Sequential adverts will be displayed on the screen and these will not change more than once every 10 seconds and any changes in image will be instantaneous. The advertisements will be static and there will be no intermittent or flashing lighting, which could give the impression of a moving image. Therefore, although the sign is digital it will act in the same way as other advertising signs.

Permission for the sign required Advertisement Consent, a form of planning permission and this decision was taken in public by the council’s Planning Committee.

I hope the above provides some reassurance that we have taken the necessary measures before granting permission for the sign. I believe that as the newness of the development wears off it will become a familiar part of the road environment as developments elsewhere have done.

Regards
Russell

So there you have it folks, funny how the Swan House sign is mentioned too. I think I need to find out about these e-petition things.

Edited by Byff on Monday 8th December 23:58

Edited by Byff on Tuesday 9th December 00:01

[Byff]

MuZiZZle said:

Just because I don't agree I'm not contributing?

• sigh*

It's 11 to 1 so far. You can contribute as much as you like, it'll not change the fact that your in the minority.