The Principal Heritage Officer introduced the report which set out the proposed public consultation for designating a targeted Area of Special Control of Advertisements (ASCA) within Conservation Areas (CA).  ASCAs were proposed for eight CAs within the borough with a commercial centre.  She referred to paragraph 2.5 on page 4 of the report which set out eight types of advertisements where ASCAs provided greater control.  The first three points would be added onto the CAs.  Points 4 to 8 were already applicable in a CA.  The Principal Heritage Officer said maps were included within the consultation document, with purple shading identifying the commercial centre of the CA. The intention was to consult on whether residents were happy for ASCAs to be designated to solely the commercial centre, or the entire CA.  She drew attention to page 29 of the report where a text box on the map, which should have been on page 28, had slipped over to page 29.

The Chair invited Members to ask questions and make comments, and these included:

·         Happy with the document;

·         clarification sought on how properties which already had advertisement signs would be dealt with and whether any action would be taken retrospectively against them;

·         considered the wording within paragraph 1.1 of the Planning Policy Consultation (What is an advertisement?) under the Key Questions section towards the end of the document was an important piece of information and should be included in the main body of the text, earlier in the document;

·         aware of a site where there were illuminated signs within a CA and sought clarification as to whether enforcement action could be taken;

·         suggested the purple shading indicating the boundary of the proposed ASCA be extended to the corner of Station Road, Teynham on the Cellar Hill and Greenstreet CA map;

·         referring to paragraph 5.1 in the report and considered the consultation should commence before the summer of 2026 as leaving it that long could result in advertisement signs going up in the meantime;

·         considered the purple shading should be extended along the High Street on the Queenborough map;

·         suggested the list of advertisement types set out on page 13 of the report be numbered, rather than have bullet points;

·         suggested it was easier to administer and simpler to understand if the whole of a CA be designated an ASCA;

·         considered it was confusing as to what was permitted with a CA; and

·         on page 22 of the report, the area shaded purple in Faversham town centre did not represent the whole area described within the report, and should include properties further along in East Street.

The Principal Heritage Officer gave the following responses:  ASCAs could not impose restrictions retrospectively; illuminated signs within a CA were enforceable; happy to move the definition text to the beginning of the document; the report would be considered by the Policy & Resources Committee in February 2026 and it was hoped the consultation would ‘go live’ soon after that, the summer deadline was the absolute deadline; Queenborough High Street was quite residential and officers had focused on the commercial areas; acknowledged the maps could be clearer and noted Members’ requests for extending the areas to include the whole of the CAs.

The Head of Place explained that CAs did not automatically come with Article 4 Directions or with ASCAs and justification was needed for both.  Article 4’s were due to be looked at in more detail as part of the work programme and ASCAs were required to be reviewed every five years, and these could be expanded within CAs.

The Chair proposed the recommendations in the report, along with all the amendments discussed, which were seconded by Councillor Ben J Martin.

Recommendations to the Policy & Resources Committee:

(1)      That the content of the consultation document relating to the proposed designation of an Area of Special Control of Advertisements (ASCA) be noted.

(2)      That the ASCA consultation document, amended as minuted, be agreed as fit for purpose to undertake public consultation and progress the designation process.