'Las Vegas' lighting allowed, government says

Proposed petrol station advertising signs described as "hideous" and similar to the Las Vegas strip by opponents will be allowed, the government has said.

Last May, Mid Suffolk District Council refused an application by EG On The Move to put totem pole-style signs alongside others on a service station off the A14's junction 47, in Elmswell, near Stowmarket.

Planning officers said at the time it would be harmful to the landscape, listed buildings and amenity, particularly at night.

However, a government inspector has overruled the council's decision and allowed the signs to go ahead, subject to limits on the light's intensity.

During the meeting last year, councillors objecting to the plans described the signs as a "hideous intrusion", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A resident who wrote to the council ahead of its decision said the signs were out of character with the area and compared them to the famous Las Vegas strip.

But Government inspector Jennifer Wallace said although the signs would add to the building's prominence, they would be viewed in the context of the illumination from the road network.

She added the petrol station was a "small feature in the otherwise expansive landscape" and was not prominent because of its low position at the base of the valley.

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