29th December 2025

Dear Enforcement Team,

I am writing to request a formal enforcement investigation into the erection of a noticeboard on land designated as visual amenity protected land, with associated environmental and woodland protections.

Site and designation

The land in question is designated as:

  • Visual Amenity Protected Land, and
  • Protected W1 woodland / open space (as per the Local Plan and adopted policies).

These designations place a strong presumption against the introduction of permanent structures or features that detract from the character, openness, or visual quality of the land.

Nature of the development

A noticeboard has been erected on this land. It appears to be:

  • Permanent rather than temporary,
  • Freestanding, requiring physical installation,
  • Intended for public display, and therefore constitutes an advertisement structure.

To my knowledge:

  • No planning permission has been granted for this structure, and
  • No advertisement consent has been obtained under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007.

Planning and advertisement control concerns

In my understanding:

  • A permanent noticeboard constitutes development and/or advertisement display.
  • On visual amenity protected land, advertisement consent is not automatically exempt and must pass the statutory tests of amenity and public safety.
  • The erection of such a structure risks:
    • Harm to visual amenity,
    • Incremental urbanisation of protected land,
    • Setting an undesirable precedent for further structures.

If the noticeboard required excavation, posts, or foundations, this may also constitute operational development in breach of planning control.

Request

I therefore formally request that the Council:

  1. Confirms whether planning permission and/or advertisement consent exists for this noticeboard.
  2. If no consent exists, records this as a potential breach of planning and advertisement control.
  3. Assesses whether the structure is acceptable in principle on visual amenity and W1 protected land.
  4. Takes appropriate enforcement action if the development is found to be unauthorised.
  5. Provides a written outcome of the enforcement assessment.

Given the site’s protected status, I would expect any unauthorised structure to be addressed promptly to prevent ongoing harm and avoid normalising inappropriate development on protected land.

I look forward to your confirmation that this matter has been logged and is under investigation.

Yours faithfully,

Sheila Oliver
The Romiley Gazette