# Footpath outside 60 High Street, West Wickham

- **Decision:** dismissed, 25 August 2026
- **Decided by:** Planning Inspector: Les Greenwood
- **Authority:** Bromley (London)
- **Appeal reference:** 6010818
- **Application reference:** 26/00417/FPA
- **Procedure:** written-representations
- **Development:** BT Street Hub unit with digital advertisement panels (replacing a remote phone kiosk)
- **Site context:** inside-settlement
- **Green Belt:** no
- **Framework applied:** August 2026 NPPF
- **Determinative policies:** S4(1)
- **Development plan policies:** Bromley Local Plan 2019 Policies 32, 33, 37, 102, London Plan 2021 D8, T2
- **Main issues:** amenity and street clutter, pedestrian safety
- **Tags:** tier-2, s4-within-settlement, s4-substantially-outweighed, telecoms, street-hub, transitional-no-consultation

## Summary
A BT Street Hub with two 75-inch digital screens on a busy West Wickham high street pavement. Dismissed alongside the linked advertisement appeal (6010823). The inspector did not consult on the 2026 Framework given the minor scale (DL ¶5). Visual clutter and a pinch point of 1.2 m or less substantially outweighed the telecoms benefits under S4 (DL ¶18).

## What made the difference
Footway width. The Manual for Streets and Inclusive Mobility 2 m benchmarks, cited by the appellant, reinforced the finding against it (DL ¶12). Removing a kiosk on another street gave no offsetting benefit (DL ¶16).

## Policy findings
- **CO1: benefit.** telecoms, emergency calls and wifi benefits acknowledged (DL 18)
- **S4(1): fail.** clutter and a 1.2 m effective footway (under 1 m when in use) on a busy high street; pedestrians forced towards the carriageway; benefits substantially outweighed (DL 8-18)

## Key facts
- Effective public footway reduced to 1.2 m; Manual for Streets and Inclusive Mobility 2 m cited
- Linked advertisement appeal 6010823 decided in the same letter (not in this slice)

## Sources
- https://appeal-planning-decision.service.gov.uk/comment-planning-appeal/appeals/6010818
- https://appeal-planning-decision.service.gov.uk/published-document/656202b3-3d99-4030-96ff-3c5348204314

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Source: https://planningdistilled.org/research/england/nppf-navigator/decisions/PINS-6010818.html

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