Starbucks applies for new sign - after it was forced to remove previous one
Coffee giant applies for new signage permission - after it was forced to remove previous one.
International coffee giant Starbucks has applied for permission to install a new sign at its Ilkley branch after it was forced to remove a previous advertising totem.
The nine-metre-tall sign at Wheatley Lane, Ben Rhydding was removed last month following a lengthy planning wrangle with Bradford Council.
Starbucks had erected the sign in June without applying for advertising consent from the local authority.
Plans to build a Starbucks drive thru on the former Original Factory Store site were approved by Bradford Council in 2024, but the signage was not included in that approval.
A retrospective advertising consent application was refused, with planners describing the sign as a “disproportionate and discordant feature” and not “in keeping with the immediate residential setting”.
The company then made a second application – this time for a six-metre sign.
But this was also refused with planners saying: “The signage would not be in keeping with the immediate residential setting and cumulatively over-dominates the character and appearance of the street scene to the detriment of the visual amenity.
“The proposed six metre totem sign cumulatively in its size, position and form would result in an over dominating structure that would harm outlook from opposite neighbour’s habitable room windows.”
In March, nine months after the original sign was installed, it was removed.
The new application is for a five metre tall sign in a different location, closer to the neighbouring petrol filling station.
The application says: “The proposed signage has been designed to be visible from the A65 to alert drivers to the drive through restaurant.
“The first reason for refusal relates to the sign prominence and position on the site and the suggestion it forms a discordant feature.
“The revised proposal relocates the sign to the west of the site immediately adjacent to the adjacent petrol station and commercial development. It is not considered that the signage is substantially different from that at the petrol station and is no less muted.
“It is important to note that the proposed signage is lower than the canopy of the adjacent petrol station ensuring that it fits below that high point and is contained within this built form.
“It is also important to note that whilst being set further away the sign is also shorter than that previously applied for. A combination of the reduced height and increased distance away from neighbouring residential properties addresses the concerns previously raised in relation to impact on neighbouring residential properties.”
A decision on the application is expected later this month.