We object to the following advertising consent and associated planning applications:
2021/2623​, 2021/2609​. 2021/2625,​ 2021/2613, ​2021/2627​, 2021/2612​, 2021/2626​,
2021/2615​. 2021/2631​, 2021/2634

We object on the grounds that the local amenity will be greatly diminished by the imposition of these advertising structures will little or no public benefit in return.

The proposed structures are large, and in the cases where they are replacing phone boxes they are both taller and wider causing additional clutter to the pavement space, reducing the area for people to walk between these 'hubs' the roads and the buildings. The phone boxes which they are intended to replace have been poorly maintained and this gives us an idea of what these new units will look like under the same management, becoming magnets for vandalism, trash and messiness.

In the cases where these are new constructions they will cause a huge amount of unnecessary street clutter and diminish the beauty and visibility which is a key part of the amenity of these areas as well as causing new obstructions to the free flow of foot traffic that will make it less enjoyable and accessible a public space for pedestrians, wheelers and the visually impaired.

These adverts will use energy all year round wasting precious resources, causing visual pollition from the content of the advertisments, light pollution from the screens and noise pollution form the fans needed to cool the units which will try and sell us things we don't need. They also pose a safety hazard as big illuminated screens with changing images would pose a danger to car drivers and others on and around the road causing distraction and reducing lines of sight.

All the units will contirbute to the climate crisis through the resources needed to build and maintaining the units. The content of the ads will also not be covered by the council's new advertisment and sponsorship policy, so may feature services and products such as junk food, gambling and alcohol, which goes against public health objectives.

These advertisments are very similar to ones recently refused planning permission by the council in Shoreditch and the same criteria must be in place and therefore these should also have permission refused.

The proposed advetismensts, by reason of their scale, siting, appearance and method of illumination would result in obstrusive and visually incongruous features that would contribute to an unsightly proliferation of signage and street furniture in the local areas that would detract from their visual amenity of the street scene. As such these proposals would be contrary to policies D4 (Delivering Good Design), D8 (Public Realm) and HC1 (Heritage conservation and growth) of the London Plan (2021) and policies PP1 (Public Realm), LP3 (Designated Heritage Assets) and LP7 (Advertisements) of Hackney's Local Deelopment Plan (2020).

The proposed advertisements by reason of their scale appearance , location and potential uses would result in an obstructive and intrusive form of development that would increase potential loitering, creating blocks and reducing the amount of space available for use by pedestrians and would block lines of sight and create distraction for highway users reduicing the safety of the highway. As such the proposal development is contrary to policy D8 'Public Realm' of the London Plan (2021) as well as policy PP1 'Public Realm', LP7 'Advertisments' and LP42 'Walking and Cycling' of the Hackney Plan.

We as members of the public do not want these adverts crowding our streets enticing us to buy things we don't need. Do not hand over our public space to corporate profiteers to the detriment of the the amenity of our borough. We also object to the existence of the disused and run-down phone boxes and ask that they be removed and not replaced.