Advertisements abutting Motorways (Hansard, 20 October 2004)

§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)
My Lords, outdoor advertisements are controlled by local planning authorities. They must consider amenity and public safety aspects on a site-specific basis before allowing an advertisement. Advertisements on land abutting motorways will have implications for road safety and are unlikely to be approved. We are unaware of any cases involving commercial advertisements on private farmland abutting motorways in England that have been taken to court. However, we know of 13 local planning authorities that have taken informal action to get such advertisements removed.

§ Lord Harrison
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer, but will the Government consider banning such commercial advertising, which is unsightly and frequently bereft of planning control? Does he recognise that there is a traffic hazard for those drivers slowing down to read the contact details on such advertising, especially when driving in very fast traffic?

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, such advertisements are not bereft of planning control. Advertisements on land directly facing motorways and trunk roads require the express consent of the relevant local planning authority, as well as the prior permission of the landowner. There might be arguments about advertisements displayed on trailers parked in fields, but they would require express consent of local planning authorities if the trailer was not moving.

§ Lord Livsey of Talgarth
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the advertisements referred to are very few and far between? On one motorway, all there is is an elephant and an owl, which keeps the children amused. Far more serious are the advertisements of the franchisees on motorway service stations. Adverts for McDonald's seem to be getting bigger by the week, for example.

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, I disagree. Such advertisements are proliferating in land abutting motorways; there is no question about that. Service stations are quite different. They are commercial 766 property, so different rules apply. However, advertisements not on the public highway, but on private land abutting motorways, require express planning permission from local authorities. If they do not get it, the local authority can take enforcement action.

Lord Berkeley
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that most of the trailers that one sees with big advertisements on them next to motorways probably have not moved for five or 10 years? They may have wheels, but clearly those wheels do not go round, so they are as much an eyesore as some of the more fixed advertisements. What action can the Government take? Should the general public be contacting the planning authorities and complaining?

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, some people site the adverts in such a way that, from the angle in the car, the fence usually hides the phone number or website address, so they are not that clever at locating them. If the adverts are on a trailer without an engine, with or without wheels or on the side of a container in a field, that is a permanent site that requires permission from the local authority. It is an advertisement on a site, not on a moving vehicle. It is up to the local authority to take the necessary action following complaints from people worried about the amenity, the despoliation of the countryside, or road safety hazards.

§ Lord Marlesford
My Lords, does the Minister regard it as satisfactory that local authorities should be able to give themselves planning consent for advertisements on land that they own, with the revenue from such advertisements accruing to them? An example is the A12 trunk road, on which the Highways Agency has for many years been trying to persuade Braintree District Council to remove placards. One of them is still there, as large as ever. Is it satisfactory that local authorities should be judge and jury in their own cases, in which they have an interest?

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, I do not know; I cannot answer on a specific site. Local authorities own property and land and are the planning authority, but are required to follow the law as well. If they operate unreasonably, action can be taken.

§ The Countess of Mar
My Lords, how does banning all the signs equate with the Government's policy of encouraging farmers to diversify? In many cases, they are putting up advertisements—I can think of one on the M42 for a cattery—because they have diversified. The only way in which they can advertise their services is by such signs.

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, that is perfectly okay. The farmer gets an income from it and declares it for the tax, but gets the planning permission. There is no problem about that; planning permission can be given. I do not start from the proposition that it would not be given. There is a booklet, by the way—I am supposed to wave 767 it—called Outdoor Advertisements and Signs: A Guide for Advertisers, produced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It is free, so farmers will not complain about its cost. We are not against diversification; far from it. It is fine for farmers to get an income from the signs, provided that they have the necessary planning permission.

§ Lady Saltoun of Abernethy
My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is not only advertisements that take the driver's mind off the road, but the signs put up by the Highways Agency telling him how to drive and how to drive safely?

§ Lord Rooker
My Lords, I reject that completely.