Queen Ann's Sports Field Planning Application.
Caversham Prep School Signage Complaint.
A resident of Derby Road complained about the size of the Caversham Preparatory School advertisement board at the Peppard Road entrance to Derby Road. The Committee complained to Reading Borough Council on the resident’s behalf and this is their response. We intend to take no further action.
The investigation into your complaint of unauthorised advertising at the above address is now complete.
It has established that the sign being displayed within the curtilage of the above address advertising "Caversham Preparatory School" exceeds 1.2 square metres in area (2.1 square metres) and therefore does not benefit from deemed consent under Class 2C of Part 1 of Schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007.
However, before initiating enforcement action the local planning authority is duty bound to assess the unauthorised advertisement against both local and national planning policies and to determine harm to amenity. This process has now been completed and planners have determined that it would not be expedient to pursue planning enforcement action in this case for the following reasons: a previous planning enforcement investigation into unauthorised signage in the same location carried out in 2016 established that signage relating to the current occupiers, and the previous occupiers of the land, had been continually displayed in the same location for more than ten years and had therefore become lawful through the passage of time. Planners determined that this sign, whilst slightly larger, causes no further harm to amenity to the signage assessed in 2016 and it is therefore likely that advertising consent would be granted for the signage if an application to be made. As a consequence the advertisement may remain in situ and the planning enforcement is now closed.
It has established that the sign being displayed within the curtilage of the above address advertising "Caversham Preparatory School" exceeds 1.2 square metres in area (2.1 square metres) and therefore does not benefit from deemed consent under Class 2C of Part 1 of Schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007.
However, before initiating enforcement action the local planning authority is duty bound to assess the unauthorised advertisement against both local and national planning policies and to determine harm to amenity. This process has now been completed and planners have determined that it would not be expedient to pursue planning enforcement action in this case for the following reasons: a previous planning enforcement investigation into unauthorised signage in the same location carried out in 2016 established that signage relating to the current occupiers, and the previous occupiers of the land, had been continually displayed in the same location for more than ten years and had therefore become lawful through the passage of time. Planners determined that this sign, whilst slightly larger, causes no further harm to amenity to the signage assessed in 2016 and it is therefore likely that advertising consent would be granted for the signage if an application to be made. As a consequence the advertisement may remain in situ and the planning enforcement is now closed.