Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions Site visit made on 15 June 2023 by Bhupinder Thandi BA (Hons) MA MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 7 July 2023 Appeal A Ref: APP/T5150/W/22/3300345 Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden, London NW10 2EN • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by BT Telecommunications Plc against the decision of London Borough of Brent. • The application Ref 22/0896, dated 28 February 2022, was refused by notice dated 3 May 2022. • The development is installation of 1no. new BT Street Hub, incorporating 2no. digital 75" LCD advert screens, plus the removal of associated BT kiosks. Appeal B Ref: APP/T5150/H/22/3300347 Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden, London NW10 2EN • The appeal is made under Regulation 17 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 (as amended) (the Regulations) against a refusal to grant express consent. • The appeal is made by BT Telecommunications Plc against the decision of London Borough of Brent. • The application Ref 22/0972, dated 28 February 2022, was refused by notice dated 3 May 2022. • The development is described as installation of 1no.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions new BT Street Hub, incorporating 2no. digital 75" LCD advert screens. Decision 1. Appeal A is allowed and planning permission is granted for installation of 1no. new BT Street Hub, incorporating 2no. digital 75" LCD advert screens, plus the removal of associated BT kiosks at Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden, London NW10 2EN, in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 22/0896, dated 28 February 2022, subject to the conditions set out in the Schedule to this Decision. 2. Appeal B is allowed and express consent is granted for installation of 1no. new BT Street Hub, incorporating 2no. digital 75" LCD advert screens at Dudden Hill Lane, Willesden, London NW10 2EN, in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 22/0972, dated 28 February 2022. The consent is for five years from the date of this decision and is subject to the standard conditions set out in the Regulations and the additional conditions set out in the Schedule to this Decision. Preliminary Matters 3. As set out above there are two appeals on this site. Appeal A relates to a refusal for planning permission and Appeal B relates to the Council’s refusal to grant advertisement consent.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions I have considered each proposal on its individual https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions I have considered each proposal on its individual https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions Appeal Decisions APP/T5150/H/22/3300347 merits. However, to avoid duplication I have dealt with the two schemes together, except where otherwise indicated. 4. In respect of Appeal B the Regulations regarding advertisements states that control may only be exercised in the interests of amenity and public safety. I have had regard to the policies of the development plan and supplementary guidance only in so far as they are a material consideration relevant to matters before me. Main Issues 5. The main issues are: • The effect of the proposal upon the character and appearance of the area; and • The effect of the proposed development upon the pedestrian environment. Reasons Character and appearance 6. The appeal site is an area of pavement close to the junction of High Road and Dudden Hill Lane. The road has a retail and commercial appearance and includes varying advertisements and signs including at a nearby bus shelter and a 48-sheet advertisement hoarding next to a pocket park. 7. The pocket park is broadly triangular and extends from the road junction tapering to the bus shelter. The paved surface of the park supplements the footpath which increases the space available for pedestrians to pass.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions The width of the pavement, open park and the limited amount of street furniture at this point gives the impression of spaciousness. 8. Whilst the Street Hub would introduce a new feature into the street scene it would have a slender modern appearance, in a muted colour, resulting in a less conspicuous structure within the street scene. 9. Given its slender proportions and the commercial nature of the area I find that the cumulative impact of the Street Hub and the existing street furniture would not adversely affect the character and appearance of the area or diminish the sense of openness that exists. 10. Whilst the advertisement displays would be illuminated, the digital displays would not be unduly intrusive or incongruous given its position in an area with a commercial appearance and would be viewed against the backdrop of the bus shelter and advertisement hoarding. 11. For these reasons the proposed Street Hub and the digital advertisement displays would not adversely affect the character and appearance of the area.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions It would, therefore, accord with Policy DMP1 of the Brent Local Plan (2022) (LP), Supplementary Planning Document 1 – Brent Design Guide and Supplementary Planning Guidance 8 – Advertisements (Other Than Shops) which, amongst other things, require developments to be of high urban design quality and that the location, scale, detailing and design complements the locality. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions It would, therefore, accord with Policy DMP1 of the Brent Local Plan (2022) (LP), Supplementary Planning Document 1 – Brent Design Guide and Supplementary Planning Guidance 8 – Advertisements (Other Than Shops) which, amongst other things, require developments to be of high urban design quality and that the location, scale, detailing and design complements the locality. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions Appeal Decisions APP/T5150/H/22/3300347 Pedestrian environment 12. The Street Hub would be sited on the inner edge of the pavement maintaining a pavement width of approximately 2.7m at this point. But the extent of the pocket park paving increases the space around the development for pedestrians. 13. Despite the Council’s view, the absence of pedestrian flow data does not preclude me from assessing the potential impact of the proposed development upon the pedestrian environment. I acknowledge that the proposed Street Hub would reduce the width of the pavement. However, this effect would be minimal on account of the slender depth of the structure. There would be adequate space either side of the Street Hub to allow free passage around it. 14. It is likely that a person or group using the Street Hub would be an intermittent occurrence and would not lead to a noticeable reduction or obstruction of the footway. The proposed development would not introduce excessive clutter on the pavement and would not present an obstruction to those using the bus stop, pedestrian movement, social distancing or pedestrian safety. 15. As such, the proposed development would not unacceptably affect public safety.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — Appeal Decisions It would accord with LP Policy DMP1 which, amongst other things, seeks to ensure that developments do not have an adverse impact on the movement network and prioritise active and sustainable travel. Conditions 16. In the interests of certainty, with regard to Appeal A, I have imposed the standard conditions relating to the commencement of the development and the approved plans. It is also necessary to impose a condition in relation to the external finish of the hub in order to ensure a satisfactory appearance. Finally, in respect of Appeal A, a condition has been imposed for the removal of the existing phone boxes in order to improve the appearance of the area and reduce street clutter. 17. In respect of Appeal B, the standard conditions as set out in the Regulations apply. In addition, and in the interests of public safety conditions have been imposed relating to the display and transition of images. These reflect the proposed list of conditions included within the appellant’s evidence. Conclusion 18. For the reasons set out above both Appeal A and Appeal B succeed.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — B Thandi INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — B Thandi INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3 Appeal Decisions APP/T5150/H/22/3300347 Schedule of conditions Appeal A 1) The development hereby permitted shall begin not later than 3 years from the date of this decision. 2) The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: Site Location Maps Drawing Number 001 Rev A; Proposed Site Plan Drawing Number 002 Rev A and Existing and Proposed Plans Drawing Number 003 Rev A. 3) The external surfaces of the development shall be constructed using the materials, finishes, and colours as described in the BT Street Hubs Product Statement v1.0 February 2021 and as shown on the BT Street Hub Proposal Renders 2021. 4) Before the BT Street Hub hereby approved is brought into use, the two existing phone boxes indicated for removal, shall be removed and the street surface made good to match the adjoining footway surface materials. Appeal B In addition to the standard conditions in the Regulations: 1) The advertisement display shall only display static images and shall not display any moving images, animation, flashing, scrolling or video images.

Pavement o/s Corner of Dudden Hill Lane and High Road, London, NW10 2EN — London Borough of Brent — B Thandi 2) The minimum display time for any advertisement shall be 10 seconds and the change between advertisement images shall take place over a period no greater than one second with no sequencing, fading, swiping or merging of images. 3) The intensity of the illumination of the advertisement displays hereby permitted by this consent shall be no greater than 600 cd/m2 between the hours of dusk (local sunset time) and dawn (local sunrise time). 4) No content on the advertisements shall resemble traffic signs, as defined in section 64 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4