Billboard refused as it would 'distract drivers'

Plans to install a large digital billboard next to the M606 have been refused after highways officers raised concerns it would distract motorway drivers.

The application would have seen a 21ft x 8ft (6.5m x 2.5m) digital sign fitted onto the side of the PEC building on Commondale Way, which faces onto the M606 to the south of Bradford.

Officers at Bradford Council said it was "wholly inappropriate" to fit an advertisement that was likely to distract drivers on a busy motorway.

They raised concerns over safety given the sign's "target audience is drivers travelling at speed and approaching a junction".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, they said: "Motorway driving requires a high level of concentration, and this is particularly the case when approaching a junction where vehicles are either exiting the motorway or joining.

"A digital advertisement display on the subject building, immediately adjacent to the motorway, would cause a distraction for motorists which would result in detriment to public [and] highway safety."

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