Advertisements

In addition to controlling development, the Local Planning Authority is responsible for controlling the display of advertisements within the Borough.

Advertisements come in many forms. From shop signs to estate agents boards, from signs warning of neighbourhood watch schemes to notices about school or village fetes, the list is endless.

It is an offence to display an advertisement without first having obtained consent.

Do I Need to Apply for Consent?
Consent is required for the display of advertisements. However, the Government has taken many types of sign outside of Local Council control. These have deemed consent. To see if the signs you want to display have deemed consent, please view the document Outdoor Advertisements and Signs: A Guide for Advertisers produced by the Department of Communities and Local Government.

How Do I Apply?
If your proposal is not within the deemed consent categories, you will need to apply to the Council for consent.

Apply online using the Planning Portal. 

What Happens Next?
Once you have made your application it will be checked and allocated to a Planning Officer. If necessary, the Officer will seek advice on the acceptability of the proposal from specialists. Outside of Kettering town, the Parish Council will be invited to comment on the application.

Most applications take between 5 and 8 weeks to reach decision stage.

The Decision
Most decisions on whether or not to approve an application are taken by the Development Control Manager. However, in a small minority of cases the Planning Sub Committee takes the decision. You will be notified if this applies to your application. To find out more about committee procedures view our leaflet "Planning Committees".

If the decision is to refuse your application or to grant it subject to conditions, other than the standard conditions, or if no decision is reached within the specified time period, you can appeal to the First Secretary of State. Appeals are all handled by the Planning Inspectorate.

Other than a challenge through the courts, there is no right of appeal for third parties.

The Choice of Appeal Procedure
There is a choice of two appeal procedures and the Planning Inspectorate will co-operate with you, or your agent, in enabling your appeal to be processed and decided in the way you would prefer. Occasionally, the Inspectorate may have to use a procedure which is not your own preference, in order to ensure that all aspects of the appeal are thoroughly and fairly considered. When this happens the Inspectorate will explain why.
When you prepare your case, you must give precise grounds of appeal. This enables the Local Planning Authority in their written statement to answer the relevant points and thus avoid unnecessary delay. The Inspectorate will give you the opportunity to respond to the statement prepared by the Local Planning Authority. The two appeal options available to you are:

• by written representations which you and the Local Planning Authority make, followed by (i) an unaccompanied site inspection of the appeal site; or (ii) no site inspection, but with consideration of photographs of the appeal site, provided you and the Planning Authority both agree in advance to this arrangement;
• by a face to face hearing in front of an independent Planning Inspector and (usually) an accompanied site inspection of the appeal site.

You should note that, under any procedure, an award of costs may be considered if the Inspector concludes that either side has acted unreasonably and you may be liable for an award of the Planning Authority's appeal costs against you if you are found to have behaved "unreasonably" in the appeal proceedings.

Making an Appeal
All advertisement appeals in England have to be submitted to the Secretary of State within eight weeks of the receipt of the Local Planning Authority's decision against which you are appealing. To appeal, you should complete an official appeal form using the Planning Portal's online service.  Make an appeal online.

The Planning Portal provide detailed guidance on Advertisement Appeals.

On completion of the forms you should send one copy to The Planning Inspectorate (address below) and one copy to the Local Planning Authority. You are also advised to retain a copy for your own records.

Contact Information
The Planning Inspectorate
4/04 Kite Wing
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
BRISTOL BS1 6PN
Website: www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk
Telephone: 0117 3728353 / 0117 3728000

For an informal discussion about your appeal options, please contact the Duty Planning Officer by telephone on 01536 534316 or email the Planning Department.

Last updated 10/10/2011