Retrospective planning permission for the illuminated signs on Wanstead High Street at the Wanstead Coffee Shop (formerly Caesar’s Palace) might not seem like a big deal, but it’s a real test of whether Redbridge officials have any fight left in them to preserve the Wanstead Conservation area.
Longtime readers will know that shops are not permitted to have “internally illuminated signs”, ie no plastic with lights coming through. Any lights need to be shining on to the sign rather than coming from inside it. It’s a small thing but the effect it makes on a high street is noticeable.
However, planners were thwarted in their objections to the digital advertising boards on the high street on these grounds, overruled by the Planning Inspectorate.
So this retrospective application (the sign have been up for months) is one of the first real tests of their resolve. Their decision will be instructive – if they give way on it, the last vestige of the conservation area would seem to vanish. On the other hand, is this a strong enough reason to put a cost on a local business?