elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 10: Development Management Guidelines and Standards
• The operators must control litter control to the satisfaction to the County Council.
10.16 ADVERTISING
Outdoor advertisements can play a vital role for both industrial and commercial enterprise as long as it is
well located and sympathetically designed advertising, whether attached to a building or free standing.
Indeed, they can contribute to the character and vitality of commercial areas, particularly at night. In
towns and villages, uncontrolled advertising detracts from the character and identity of settlements and if
located at junctions or in competition with traffic signs, can give rise to traffic hazard. Advertisements
which are used sensitively and sympathetically and which enhance the appearance and vitality of an area
shall be permitted.
The number of signs attached to a building in such areas should be limited and no sign should be
excessively obtrusive or out of scale with the building façade. As with shopfront design, the Planning
Authority will require commercial interests, especially chain outlets, to restrain the use of their corporate
image advertising where these are considered to be too dominant. All advertisements and advertisement
structures, other than those exempted under Part II, Second Schedule of the 2001 Planning and
Development Regulations shall be the subject of a formal planning application. Commercial signage and
advertising will be limited to commercial built-up areas where it is already a feature. Within towns and
villages, the following general policy will apply:
• The location of signage should be such as to prevent it leading to obstructions to the visually
impaired and should not interfere with access on footpaths.
• The size and scale of signs should not conflict with those existing structures in the vicinity;
• The number and position of signs should not unduly clutter the building façade or streetscape.
• High level advertising will not be permitted; signs should be positioned at or below ground floor
fascia level; signs will not be permitted above eaves or parapet levels.
• The following types of advertising will not be permitted by the Council, and will be actively
discouraged:
o the use of plastic, PVC, perspex and neon signs or lettering or detailing on any exterior;
o internally illuminated box fascia signs;
o
o
internally illuminated projecting signs, whether fixed or hanging;
flashing, reflectorised, neon or glitter-type signs or detailing at any location on the
exterior of the building, or so located within the interior as to be intended to be viewed
from the exterior;
• Signs shall not exceed 10% of the surface area of the building
• Signs attached to buildings are preferable to those on freestanding hoardings;
• Signs should not interfere with windows or other features of the façade or project above the
skyline.
• Signs should not impair the setting of any archaeological or historical site or any protected
building or structures or ACAs;
• Signs will not be permitted if they compete with road signs or otherwise endanger traffic safety.
• Free standing signs will generally be resisted.
10.16.1 Advertising Hoardings
Advertising hoardings rely for their impact on size, scale and location and are thus usually detrimental to
the character of the area in which they are situated and in some cases contribute to a traffic hazard.
However, they can help to screen derelict or obsolete sites awaiting re-development, in certain
circumstances.
• Outdoor advertising shall not be permitted on proposed or existing protected structures or within
the vicinity of such, in such a way as to detract from the visual quality of their setting.
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 134