By demanding that an advertising hoarding should be removed from a site in Cleckheaton, Kirklees Council is highlighting the long-standing conflict between commercial interests and aesthetics.
The Council wants the hoarding, which has stood at the junction of Tofts Road and Westgate since 1991, to be taken away to help to improve the image of the town. It says that if that doesn't happen it is doubtful whether Spen Civic Society will carry out improvements to the area in which it is sited.
However, the local businessman who uses the hoarding to promote the whereabouts of his premises says he fears he could lose trade if he is no longer able to do so. The decision now rests with a planning inspector.
While it is understandable that Kirklees Council should want the district to look its best, there is also surely a need to set against that the importance of encouraging local commerce. Looks are important, certainly, but can they ever be as important as life-blood?
Businesses need to be able to promote themselves to their potential customers if they are to thrive and in some cases even survive. And customers need to be able to find their way to those businesses which they might want to patronise. That is why advertising hoardings and promotional placards have become an integral part of the urban landscape.
Thriving businesses paying their council tax help to create a thriving town. Hoardings, if they are well-kept and not allowed to become shabby, are perhaps part of the price which must be paid for keeping the wheels of commerce turning.
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