The advertisement control system is based on rules laid down in the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007. Government advice on the display of advertisements is also provided in Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 19 “Outdoor Advertisement Control” - this document can be downloaded from the right of the page.

A Government booklet "Outdoor Advertisements and Signs, A Guide for Advertisers” explains how the advertisement control system works. This booklet can be downloaded from the Communities and Local Government website or from the right of this page. Copies are also available from the Council's Local Services Points.

The booklet includes information about:

How the advertisement control system works
What advertisements are normally permitted
What advertisements need specific consent and how to obtain it.

In summary, the Council deals with two main types of outdoor advertising:

Advertisements for which “deemed consent” exists, meaning that we do not need to grant consent for them so long as the advertisements conform to the regulations
Advertisements for which consent from the Council is always needed.

An advertisement includes posters, notices, placards, A-boards, estate agents boards, banners, fascia signs, projecting signs, pole signs, canopy signs, directional signs, price displays, signage on vehicles and captive balloons, and flags.

You are advised to consult the Guide for Advertisers booklet to see if your proposal needs consent. If you have any doubts about whether the advertisement you wish to display needs the Council’s express consent please contact the Council’s Planning Services for advice - see the contact details on the right.

Some signs can be displayed, subject to caveats, without the need for express advertisement consent from the Council. These include:

Signs on enclosed land which are not readily visible from any public place
Signs on moving vehicles which are not used principally for the purpose of displaying signs
Temporary signs relating to pending elections
Non-illuminated signs inside a building and not within 1 metre of any external door or window
Traffic signs
National flags of any country displayed on a vertical flagstaff
A flag attached to a single flagstaff projecting vertically from the roof of a building
Temporary “For Sale” and building development signs located on the land or building in question
Signs on hoardings which enclose land on which building operations are taking place or are about to take place
Small non-illuminated signs and plaques at ground floor level on business and institutional premises
Non-illuminated signs at ground floor level on business premises
Non-illuminated signs on the forecourt of business premises
Illuminated signs on business premises within a retail park facing a communal car park wholly bounded by the retail park
Illuminated signs on business premises when each character of the sign but no part of the background is illuminated from within
Non-illuminated signs on bus shelters
Small non-illuminated neighbourhood watch signs
Small non-illuminated signs giving direction to a site where residential development is taking place.

Express advertisement consent is required from the Council for many of the above types of signs if the site lies within a Conservation Area or the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

In addition listed building consent will be required to display any signage on a listed building. You need to be aware that carrying out alterations to a listed building, including displaying advertisements without the necessary consent, is a criminal offence.

You are strongly advised to contact the Council’s Planning Services if you are in any doubt about whether the sign you propose to display requires express advertisement consent or listed building consent.

If the Council refuses consent for your advertisement, or asks you to remove an existing advertisement, you can appeal against the decision. Details of how to do this are given in the Guide for Advertisers.

Vale of White Horse District Council

Advertisements and signs