Permission for 'garish' shop signage refused

Unauthorised signage installed on a Bradford listed building "causes immediate visual harm" to the property, planners have said.

A branch of Cash Generator opened at the building, on the corner of Kirkgate and Bank Street, in September and the firm installed bright blue and yellow signs on the Grade II-listed building.

The firm had not applied for listed building consent for the signs on Pearl Assurance House, built in 1876.

A retrospective application submitted in November was refused by Bradford Council, with planners describing signage as an "incongruous feature" in a city centre conservation area.

Bradford Civic Society described the signage as "garish" when it was installed and urged the local authority to investigate.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council's conservation officer Jon Ackroyd said the building displayed "bold Italianate architectural detailing, designed by eminent architects Lockwood & Mawson".

He said the building was "undermined by poor quality" 20th Century shopfronts.

He criticised the signage installed by Cash Generator and said the size, colour and illumination of the signs combined "to create a very strident and crude appearance which conflicts with the listed building".

The application was refused by Bradford Council on Monday.

"The external signage detracts from the character and appearance of the building, appearing as an incongruous feature within the vicinity, creating a strident feature in the street scene which fails to preserve or enhance the character," officers said.

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