By Harry Mottram: Local members of the Bath & North East Somerset (BANES) Green Party have objected to plans for a new illuminated advertising screen at the Bath Press site on Lower Bristol Road. The planning application (ref: 25/03878/AR) seeks permission to retain a large digital display at one of the city’s busiest junctions; a location where five collisions have been recorded since 2019. In their objection, BANES Green Party councillors Saskia Heijltjes and Joanna Wright warn that the proposed advertising screen would cause harm to both public safety and local amenity.
“This junction is already complex and heavily used by drivers, cyclists and pedestrians — including many students and young people,” said Cllr Heijltjes. “Introducing a bright, changing advertisement here would only heighten the danger and directly undermine the council’s Vision Zero commitment to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.”
The objection also raises concerns about visual clutter and light pollution, describing the proposal as “an intrusive commercial element” in a largely residential area.
“These kinds of digital billboards are designed to grab attention, not blend in,” added Cllr Wright. “They bring commercial intrusion and light pollution into local communities, at the expense of safety and visual amenity.”
Comments have been left on the planning portal that agree with the objections of the Greens with one noting, ‘I’ve experienced a number of car drivers not moving in traffic because they are distracted watching the videos on this screen.’
In their defence Town and Country who are behind the redevelopment of the former Bath Press site said in a letter to the planners: “This advertisement consent application follows the split decision of earlier advertisement consent application 25/02359/AR, which saw the other forms of temporary marketing signage on the site granted, and the TV element refused. According to the decision notice for application 25/02359/AR, the refusal of the TV element by the Local Planning Authority was primarily due to its impact upon traffic safety as a result of the moving imagery being a distraction to drivers.”
The developers said they had made a number of changes to address the concerns. They said: “Firstly, a static image has been selected to display between 9pm and 7am. The TV, it is understood, is more visible to drivers during darker hours. Having static lighting during these hours will significantly reduce any risk of distraction to drivers. It is considered that to have a static image is the equivalent to any other road sign, with slightly increased visibility owing to its illumination. Secondly, the video that is played in the remaining hours has been significantly slowed down. Again, we suggest that this poses less of a potential distraction to drivers.”
The Bath Preservation Trust notes: “The site was originally made up of a mix of 19th and 20th century buildings associated with the Bath Press, otherwise known as the Pitman Press. Following the initial grant of planning permission in 2016, demolition works quickly followed in 2017 to clear the site of all buildings. All that was retained was the 1920s Art Deco façade and chimney fronting onto Lower Bristol Road, now considered to be a Non-Designated Heritage Asset (NDHA).”
The BBC noted: “City & Country said the the historic façade of the Bath Press site would be preserved. Dating back to the 1890s, the site was home to the Pitman Press printing works, led by Sir Isaac Pitman, who developed one of the world’s most widely used methods of shorthand. Pitman was born in Trowbridge and is famous for his phonetic alphabet – his first guide being published in 1837. The site became vacant in 2007 and much of it was demolished between September 2017 and November 2018 to allow for redevelopment.”
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