Updated
The banner has been taken down by the Cliffe after Shropshire Council set a deadline of Thursday 22 January for its removal. If it had not been removed, highways officers would have taken it down.
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I have had a lot of correspondence about the banner that has appeared on the Grade II listed Dinham Bridge. The banner advertises the Cliffe Hotel (now known as The Cliffe at Dinham Restaurant with Rooms).
If you want to put up an advertisement like this, it needs listed building consent and advertising consent. When the proprietors of the Cliffe were warned of this by Shropshire Council officers , they declined to remove the banner or to apply for consent. Shropshire Council is now looking to take enforcement action.
I really support what the current proprietors of the Cliffe are trying to do as business. They are trying to turn what was a rather dull hotel into an interesting venue.
But that can’t be at the expense of our precious heritage.
After all, it’s Ludlow’s heritage that draws so many people to our town. And it can’t be at the expense of planning rules. If one business is allowed to scar one of the best views in Ludlow, as the Cliffe is doing, there is every danger that everyone else will follow.
Ludlow is not a ticky-tacky town defaced by gaudy advertisements like so many others. The Cliffe should be a good neighbour and remove this banner immediately.
I wish the Cliffe every success. One of the best ways it can achieve success is respecting Ludlow’s heritage and obeying the very clear planning rules.
Andy very well put, I hope common sense prevails.
I find this sign far less offensive than the proliferation of tatty signs (including a giant costa coffee cup) which now clutters the corner of the town square in front of Spar. These not only make the square look untidy they make the pavement difficult to walk on! The giant coffee cup is somehow bolted to the ground, presumably damaging the pavement underneath. The sign on Dinham Bridge for the Cliffe Hotel was, by comparison, quite charming.