LED adverts described as a “death trap” were rejected by Wirral Council over impact in a residential area.
Councillors voted unanimously to reject the proposals at a planning committee meeting highlighting the opposition from local residents and it would “harm the visual amenity in the area”.
The proposal was to replace two traditional advertising displays with two digital LED displays on Stanley Road in Bidston near Birkenhead North train station.
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It had been recommended for approval by officers with a number of conditions due to safety concerns but was brought to committee after a request was made by Cllr Liz Grey.
Cllr Grey, who represents Bidston and St James, said she was concerned the signs would distract drivers and “increase road danger” as well as a lack of engagement by the council with those who live nearby.
She added: “I spoke with residents all within around a hundred metres of these display boards and not one of them knew anything about any proposed changes. They felt they had not been consulted.
“I expected a mixed response but not one single person was in favour and everyone I spoke to was strongly against this.”
She then quoted a number of residents who described it as a “death trap” and another describing it as an “already dangerous junction having witnessed a number of collisions and near misses over the years.”
Other residents also criticised the “unfettered commercialism” of the proposals as a “visual assault on the area.” They argued the signs had “no place in a residential area such as this.”
Cllr Grey pointed councillors to a number of studies around road safety as well as figures on road safety she said shows someone is killed or seriously injured on UK roads every 12 minutes.
A council highways officer said that studies had shown driver distraction times increased with these types of adverts but “that doesn’t necessarily translate into accidents that have been caused by distraction time being increased.
While councillors on the committee said there wasn’t enough evidence to reject the signs of potential danger on the roads, they argued that it would be harmful to the area which is residential.
Cllr George Davies raised the fact it would contradict regeneration schemes in the area as well as new housing developments “have changed the outlook of the area enormously” arguing LED displays would be “inappropriate.”
Cllr Tracy Elzeiny also said the road was one many people walked down with “people going to Asda and going to Iceland. You have that sports park and a children’s playground.
"This seems to me an area where a lot of people are going to be walking rather than people just driving along it. It seems there’s going to be a lot of people, including children, walking about.”
Chair Stuart Kelly said: “The evidence base isn’t going to be there to entertain highways no matter how much of a concern it is for local residents” but asked councillors to make a case of refusal which was voted through.
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