Controversial Wimbledon Street Advertising Board Is Removed
Town centre advertising board taken down after planning decision
The advertising screen in The Broadway in Wimbledon has now gone
A controversial advertising screen in Wimbledon town centre have been removed after a planning decision by local councillors.
An advertising board had been outside 87 The Broadway, outside the Diba restaurant for more than five years.
But JC Decaux applied to replace the existing board with an upgraded version. The new board - called a 'Street Hub' - would be half a metre closer to the road, to give more room for people using the pavement.
It was one of six new advertising screens planned for streets in and around Wimbledon. Critics of the scheme to set up more advertising screens in Merton say they block sightlines, impede pedestrians and distract drivers.
While a board has existed outside 87 The Broadway since 2016, council officers recommended the planned upgraded version was moved half a metre away to give more pavement space.
But at a planning committee last month, Merton councillors vote against giving advertising consent for five years for the upgraded and newly-located screen.
The screen, which had already met with objections from Love Wimbledon, the Wimbledon Society and the Merton Centre for Independent Living, has now been removed from its spot.
A screen planned for 173 Kingston Road, near the Merton Park tram stop, has already been given "Advertising Consent" by council officers. Other new hubs approved are in South Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Colliers Wood and Mitcham.
Each hub would be installed at no cost to the council. They offer fast wi-fi connections for those who register via e-mail. The council would get the use of 5% of screentime to enable them to publicise council services, as well as information such as weather and local maps.
Each hub can house monitoring for noise and traffic pollution. They also offer free UK phone calls and a 999 emergency button.
More than 400 have been installed around the UK, with some drawing attention to local drug issues through the misuse of the free phone call facility.
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August 1, 2022