- Decision
- dismissed, 4 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: E Pickernell
- Authority
- Reading (South East)
- Appeal reference
- 6002960
- Application reference
- PL/25/1394
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- BT Street Hub with 2 digital 75-inch advert screens, replacing a BT kiosk (Appeal B 6002961 advert consent PL/25/1403, also dismissed)
- Site context
- inside settlement, listed building setting
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- CO1, DP3(1)
- Development plan policies
- Reading Borough Local Plan 2019 OU3, OU4, CC7, CC8
- Main issues
- character and appearance; listed building setting; living conditions; public safety
Summary
A BT Street Hub with digital advert screens in a small local centre with green space. Both the planning appeal and the advert consent appeal were dismissed. The hub would be "monolithic" and incongruous (DL ¶11). CO1's substantial weight to connectivity benefits did not outweigh "very significant and long-lasting harm" to character (DL ¶35). There was no harm to the nearby listed war memorial, and noise and safety concerns could be handled by conditions.
What made the difference
CO1's own siting limb ("sited and designed to minimise the visual impact") cuts against the benefit it gives substantial weight to. Visual prominence in a low-scale green setting outweighed that weight (DL ¶34).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO1 | benefit | substantial | substantial weight to connectivity benefits, but CO1 also requires siting to "minimise the visual impact"; very prominent siting, "significant negative visual impact" (DL 33-35) |
| DP3(1) | fail | hub "monolithic" and "incongruous" beside local-centre green space (DL 11, 15); decided under local OU3/CC7; code mapped by harvester, DP3(3) not invoked | |
| HE6 | neutral | s66 cited; no effect on significance of Grade II Tilehurst War Memorial because of distance and intervening vegetation (DL 12-14, 19) | |
| P3 | pass | night-time call noise controllable by condition (DL 21-24); code mapped by harvester |
Key facts
- Hub footprint smaller than existing kiosk, so no added clutter (DL 10)
- Advert panels occupy most of both faces; digital format "significantly more eye-catching" than local fascia signs (DL 18)
- Parties not re-consulted on the 2026 Framework (DL 5)
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.