A PROPOSAL to covert an existing paper advertising board to a digital one has been thrown out by the council.

Applicant Wildstone Estates has sought permission from Warrington Borough Council’s planning department for the replacement of an existing 48-sheet poster advertisement.

This, attached to the side of 337 Old Liverpool Road in Sankey Bridges, would have been taken down and replaced by an internally illuminated digital advertisement board.

But the application has been rejected due to the ‘impact on visual amenity’.

Documents state: “The upgrade of a long-established paper and paste advertising display to a modern digital format capable of being operated from a central location significantly reduces vehicle trips for reposting.

“This is part of an industry wide drive to rationalise, modernise and upgrade advertising infrastructure to meet modern requirements.

“In addition to converting some of the better located sites to digital, in many instances this will mean removing inappropriately located or poorly performing displays and developing new sites in better locations.

“The overall strategy is to reduce the number of displays to deliver maximum premium sites in the best locations, capable of supporting multiple advertising campaigns and providing a piece of digital infrastructure adaptable to a wide range of uses.”

This new board would have featured sequentially changing static advertisements, no more frequent than one change every 10 seconds.

The proposed panel has the same dimensions as a standard 48-sheet hoarding, measuring 3m by 6m and positioned 3.75m above ground.

In rejecting the scheme, the council said: “The proposed signage by virtue of its proposed location and protrusion above the existing roof slope of the building, is considered to have a detrimental impact on the visual amenity of the area.”