Ribble Valley Borough Council candidates for Primrose Mike Willcox and Michael Graveston strongly oppose plans submitted to erect three garish advertisement screens in Clitheroe town centre.

BT has submitted planning applications to place three ‘hubs’ incorporating large video advertising screens in the centre of Clitheroe: on the pavement outside the White Lion on Market Place (3/2023/0002), by Boots on Castle Street (3/2023/0008) and on King Street (3/2023/0006).

These objects would tower over pedestrians and be completely out of keeping with the character of the town centre conservation area. As Clitheroe Civic Society has pointed out, towns such as Blackburn, Harrogate and Cheltenham have rejected similar applications from BT. We urge the Planning Committee of Ribble Valley to stand up for the character of Clitheroe and reject all three applications.

Mike Willcox of Ribble Valley Labour has begun a petition to ensure residents’ voices are heard. Save Clitheroe Town Centre from BT’s horrible hubs. Sign the petition here

Clitheroe resident and CLP Chair Michael Graveston commented on the issue,

“Given that BT has been a private organisation for many decades now, and its split from Openreach was much publicised to enable better competition between internet service providers, it’s amazing that – post the decline of the payphone – BT has been allowed to maintain ownership of these small pockets of land in prime retail and civic spaces. For those who would extol the virtues of competition, this leg up – via historical ownership of previously public land – obviously provides them with an unfair advantage over competitors. I note the useful repurposing of telephone boxes to house defibrillators, however, with defibs already installed close by there is no purpose for them in these locations.

 

I am no Luddite. In fact – and perhaps ironically – I work in the digital marketing industry. However, I see no benefit in these proposals to the people of Clitheroe or our town centre, other than a trio of garish plinths of pixels protruding out of the pavement, totally out of keeping with the town’s objectives and image of a historical, tourist-friendly market town.

 

Claims that they provide air quality monitoring services have, to date in other locations, not provided any actionable insights to councils and I wonder as to what extent RVBC could even act on such data, or have the resources to do so.

 

With the library a stone’s throw away that already provides internet connectivity and BT-Wifi already available in the town centre, the only benefit I can remotely think of would be a compromise that at least 80% of screen time on the advertisements were given to the council, local businesses and local charitable initiatives.

 

I urge the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups on the council and planning committee to turn down this application and look into the future ownership and viable alternatives of these small parcels of land.

 

Viva Las Vegas Valley”