§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to ensure that the proposals by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to relax planning controls on outdoor advertising from next year are not at the expense of their commitment to preserve the character of rural Britain from disfiguring developments. [HL3907]
§ Lord WhittyWe would not expect our proposals to have an adverse effect. At the end of June, following consultation on a range of measures to improve the control of outdoor advertisements, we announced our proposal to limit the geographical scope of Areas of Special Control of Advertisements (ASCAs) to land within National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Broads, Sites of Special Scientific Interest and conservation areas.
Areas of the countryside which would no longer be included within ASCAs would still be subject to the Control of Advertisements Regulations. Applications to display an advertisement would be considered by local planning authorities on the basis of amenity and public safety, taking account of national planning policy guidance. This makes clear that poster advertising is out of place in the open countryside and should not normally be allowed.
There are good reasons why local planning authorities should decide these matters at local level, just as they decide other important planning matters. We are, nevertheless, giving careful consideration to representations received about ASCAs since the June announcement before coming to a final decision.
The proposals relate only to England.