Mural advice offered to help avoid criminal offence
Poster information
Posted on: Thursday 30 May 2019
Senior politicians from Bridgend County Borough Council have issued a statement following media coverage of a 'Cofiwch Dryweryn’ mural which has been painted on the side of a town centre shop in Bridgend.
Councillor Richard Young, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “I don’t intend to get into tit-for-tat arguments on the issue, so I’ll just say this as plainly as I can.
“This is about a planning authority ensuring that planning laws are upheld – nothing more, nothing less.
“While I have full sympathy with the sentiments portrayed by the mural, the advice issued by our planning team was intended to help the building owner.
“It clearly says that he can apply for retrospective advertisement consent to keep the mural in place, thereby avoiding a criminal offence and remaining on the right side of the law.
“The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 states that ‘advertisement’ means ‘any word, letter, model, sign, placard, board, notice, awning, blind, device or representation’ which is used ‘wholly or partly for the purposes of advertisement, announcement or direction’.
“The bottom line is that displaying an advertisement without consent constitutes a criminal offence, and no matter what anyone might think, nobody is exempt from this.
“I would urge the building owner to either follow the guidance the council has provided to apply for retrospective consent to keep it in place, or to contact our planning team so that they can advise him further about how he can make sure he stays on the right side of UK law.”
Cofiwch Dryweryn is a very important part of our Welsh culture and history and should rightly be remembered as such, but the regulations are very clear and state that advertisement consent is required.
As the relevant planning authority for the area, the council has a legal responsibility for ensuring that this is in place, so I hope that the premises owner follows the advice he has received and applies for retrospective consent. Our planning team is available and happy to clarify the matter if he requires any further advice or support.
Council Leader Huw David