Plans for 75-inch advert screens throughout Shrewsbury town centre set to be rejected

A set of applications for six BT street hubs, which would have large LED screens, have been submitted for several Shrewsbury streets.

But they are expected to receive the thumbs down from Shropshire Council's northern planning committee due to not being in-keeping with the town's historic surroundings.

They would be sited at Claremont Bank, the junction between Smithfield Road and Chester Street, St Mary's Street, Castle Street and near the market entrance in Shoplatch. Phone boxes would also be removed from Castle Street, Market Street and Shoplatch.

The hubs would be nearly 3m high and 1.2m wide with LED screens on both sides. Businesses would pay BT to display advertising material and fund the hubs, which would provide ultrafast public and encrypted wi-fi, USB ports for charging, free phone calls and a direct 999 call button.

Shrewsbury Town Council raised concerns that the hubs may encourage anti-social behaviour. And a Shrewsbury Civic Society spokesman said: "To our knowledge, these 'hubs' have been appearing in urban locations around the country over the last twelve months . Whilst these structures may be appropriate for a city location they are not suited to historical areas and, in our opinion, will just produce unnecessary visual 'noise'."

A Shropshire Council development management report said: "It is considered that the proposed hub due to its scale, design and digital display screen and having regard to the character of the area in which it will be located, would have an adverse visual impact on the character and appearance of the street scene, the setting of nearby listed buildings and this part of Shrewsbury town centre conservation area.

"The harm to the significance of these heritage assets is considered to be less than substantial and the public benefits do not outweigh the harm. The proposal is therefore considered to be contrary to local plan policies and also fails to preserve or enhance the setting of nearby listed buildings or the character or appearance of the conservation area."

A conservation officer's statement said: "Each of the six digital street hubs proposed in Shrewsbury are all within the boundaries of the Shrewsbury Conservation Area, and more particularly within the ‘Town Centre Special Character Area’, where additionally in most cases there are listed buildings and historic built forms in relatively close proximity or within the wider co-visible and inter-visible context of the historic street scene.

"It is our view that this type of development within the Conservation Area would be harmful, adding visual clutter to the street scene while undermining the setting and appearance of nearby listed buildings. While this would likely represent less than substantial harm, it would be harm none the less, where great weight needs to be given to the conservation of designated heritage assets."

The committee will meet next Tuesday, November 8.