Community hoardings suggested for Naas

A MOVE by Naas Tidy Towns to tidy up its approach roads by consolidating ad signage onto single billboards has hit a bit of a problem with a senior planner saying they would “have to make a full planning application for each billboard”.

However, cllr Bill Clear – who raised the issue at the last Naas Municipal District meeting – believed that “at the moment we (Tidy Towns, of which he is chairperson) are in negotiations with planners to establish whether we need planning permission or not”.

Using his councillor hat to further Naas Tidy Towns ambitions to win the national title, he had asked: “Can the council outline the process involved in installing a Tidy Towns community billboard on the approach roads to allow events to be advertised in an orderly manner?” 

He added: “We were thinking about putting one on the Dublin Road as a pilot to see if can satisfy the needs of the various events around the town.

“The problem we have is that some events are advertising months in advance, and we want to find another appropriate way.

”We’re hoping for a nice, 4ft x 8ft timber-effect frame which would allow for two, double-sided, election-sized posters (technically, A0) to slot in.

"Because they’re double-sided in a frame means you can see them from both sides, and we think that four weeks is enough exposure for the societies and groups and events who want to advertise.

“We’d hope to put them on all five of Naas’s approach roads, and do away with the proliferation of corrugated plastic. That should be enough to advertise everything in town, and we want to come up with solutions for them to advertise their event.

In his formal reply to cllr Clear, senior planner Simon Willoughby conceded that the Planning and Development Act provides for exemptions, and this includes advertisements for local and social events, though not commercial.