Sign must come down

An illuminated sign that caused controversy when it was put up five years ago is to be taken down.

Newark and Sherwood District Council granted permission for the pylon sign at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Lincoln Road, Newark, in 2001 with a condition that another application be made after five years.

The council has decided other signs on the site can remain but refused to renew consent for the pylon sign.

Marsdens Caterers of Sheffield Ltd, the operators of the KFC, appealed, but a planning inspector, Mr Malcolm Rowe, agreed with the council, saying the sign had a negative impact on the surrounding area.

The red, white and blue sign is ten metres high, more than two metres wide and and features the words “Drive Thru” and an arrow.

In a report to Mr Rowe, district council planning officer Miss Clare Walker said the pylon sign was inappropriate.

“Its harm to visual amenity arises by virtue of its excessive height at ten metres from ground level, its scale and its prominence in this location,” she said.

“It is considered that the sign is over-dominant in the street-scene and clutters the roadside.”

The council’s head of planning, Mr Mike Evans, said the sign would now have to be removed.

He said: “They have been through the appeals process and the inspector felt that the sign was too large for the site.

“They now have to remove the sign within a reasonable period of time or we can bring a prosecution against them.

“We will give them about six weeks during which time they may come back and say can we have a smaller sign and we would look at that.”

Mr Evans said that once the sign was put up the council realised what an impact it had on the area.

He said that it was felt it was no longer necessary because most people in the area knew where the restaurant was.

When the sign was first erected some nearby residents wanted it removed.

Mrs Janet Birkett (59) of Lincoln Road, said she still found the light annoying.

“It shines through my bay window,” she said.

“I wasn’t pleased when the sign first went up but there wasn’t a lot I could do about it.

“I’m glad they are going to take it down because it really is an eyesore.”

The nearby McDonald’s restaurant, on Lincoln Road, is seeking renewed permission from the district council for its yellow arch sign with the letter M at the top.

The application was backed by town councillors at a planning and regeneration committee meeting.

Their comments will be forwarded to the district council, which decides the application.