The home site of the Round Hill Society, a community group of the residents of Round Hill in Brighton, England. The site contains information about the area, latest news and reflections on life in Round Hill.
Sample request, written by Annie Rimington, Chair of the RHS, to:
Brighton & Hove Heritage Team
Brighton & Hove Council
email: conservation@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Dear Sir/Madam
Request for Control of Estate Agents' Advertising Boards in the Round Hill Conservation Area
On behalf of the Round Hill Society and local residents, I write to request that existing regulation of estate agents’ advertising boards in conservation areas in central Brighton & Hove is extended to include the Round Hill Conservation Area.
It has already been recognised by the City Council and government, that such boards do cause significant problems in areas of good historic architecture. Many central conservation areas are already spared having their heritage features obscured by Estate/Letting Agents' boards through an agreement between Brighton and Hove City Council estate and letting agencies that they should avoid this method of advertising property.
Estate and Letting Agencies do play a valuable role in helping people to buy, sell and rent accommodation. However, in an age where so many people can access the Internet, even on mobile phones, people looking for accommodation do not comb the streets in search of advertisement boards. Agencies are forced to go to the expense of erecting boards when and where their competitors are permitted to use this method of gaining advantage.
Brighton and Hove City Council would not allow any other service to be advertised in this uncontrolled manner way in their conservation areas. Round Hill's Article 4 Direction also prescribes very closely the architectural features (front door & window types, rooflights etc) which are acceptable on our street facades. It is therefore understandable why residents who take pride in their environment ask why is there one set of conservation rules for them, while estate/letting agents are permitted to erect and leave in place for many months, large numbers of eye-catching boards which are totally out of keeping with the character and appearance of our conservation area?
Round Hill has a strong and growing sense of community pride, which could benefit estate and letting agencies, since it will be reflected in property values and the desirability of living in our neighbourhood. But the increase of signs (that in part reflects the growing number of short term student house rentals in our area) which are also left in place long after properties have been acquired, is a short-sighted strategy and one which increasingly annoys residents who take more than a short-term interest in our area.
Therefore, I formally request that Regulation 7 Direction - controlling the display of estate agents’ boards, of the Town and Country Planning Regulations 2007 is extended to include the Round Hill Conservation Area.
I also invite a representative from your team to talk to this request at our forthcoming AGM.
This will be held at Downs Infants School, 7.00pm 1st October 2014.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Yours faithfully
Annie Rimington
Chair of the Round Hill Society
Senior Planning Officer's Response
Annie's letter was answered on 19th September 2014 by Brighton and Hove City Council's Senior Planning Officer (Conservation) from the Heritage Team. His reply included the following information: