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Approval of modifications

Modifications to the Area of Special Control of Advertisements (ASCA) have now been approved.  The approval was confirmed in the direction, direction letter and decision letter from the Secretary of State and was based on a Planning Inspectorate Report.  No changes have been made from the modifications submitted to the Secretary of State in November 2019.  A notice was placed in the London Gazette and the modifications came into effect on 30 November 2020.

What is an ASCA

An Area of Special Control of Advertisements (ASCA) places additional controls on:

  • what types of advertisement can be displayed
  • when it its necessary to apply for consent to display an advertisement.

An ASCA may be designated where the scenic, historical, architectural or cultural features are so significant that additional restrictions on advertisements are justified to conserve the visual amenities of that area. The regulations that govern what types of permission are needed to display various types of advertisement are extremely complex and there are many factors to be considered when determining which types of consent may be required.

It is not the case that within an ASCA there is control over most advertisements but outside of the ASCA there is little control. The main differences relate to the scale of the sign and the letters/characters on it.

Review of East Devon Area of Special Control of Advertisements

The East Devon Area of Special Control of Advertisements (ASCA) covers most of East Devon and places restrictions on the type of advertisements that can be displayed. 

In 2018 and 2019 we reviewed whether changes should be made to the area covered and concluded that some or all of the following places should be excluded from the Area of Special Control of Advertisements:

  • Enterprise Zone
  • the new town of Cranbrook
  • wider parts of Axminster
  • Beer
  • Budleigh Salterton
  • Exmouth
  • Honiton
  • Ottery St Mary
  • Seaton
  • Sidmouth

On 20 November 2019 we submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government the following documents:

The formal period for submitting objections to the changes proposed expired on the 14 January 2020 and no comments were made.  In September 2020 the Planning Inspectorate sent a report to the Secretary of State recommending that the Secretary of State approve The County of Devon (North and East Devon Area of Special Control of Advertisements) Modification Order 2019 without modification. 

In October 2020 the Secretary of State approved the Order without modification.  A formal notice was placed in the London Gazette on 30 November 2020 and the Order came into force on that date.

Maps of the areas affected by the changes to the ASCA boundaries are included in the Order, but due to the large areas covered by the proposed changes we have produced additional, more detailed plans.

Axminster
Land to be excluded - Site AXd
Land to be included - Sites AXa, AXb and AXc

Beer
Land to be excluded - Sites BEa, BEb, BEc, BEd and BEe
Land to be included - Sites BEf, BEg, BEh and BEi

Budleigh Salterton
Land to be excluded - Sites BSa and BSe
Land to be included - Sites BSb, BSc and BSd

Cranbrook
Land to be excluded - Site CRa

Enterprise Zones - to be excluded
Airport Business Zone
Cranbrook Town Centre
Science Park
Skypark

Exmouth
Land to be excluded - Sites EXa, EXb, EXc and EXe
Land to be included - Sites EXf, EXg and EXk

Honiton
Land to be excluded - Site HOe

Ottery St Mary
Land to be excluded - Site OSMa

Seaton
Land to be excluded - Sites SEa, SEb and SEc
Land to be included - Site SEd

Sidmouth
Land to be excluded - Sites SIa, SIb, SIc and SId

History of consultation

From 5 February 2019 until 19 March 2019 we published a Consultation Document on proposals to remove large areas from the ASCA (and also to include some smaller areas).  The following comments were received:

Budleigh Salterton Town Council
Colyton Parish Council
Cranbrook Town Council
Exmouth Planning Committee

The February/March 2019 consultation was a continuation of the review process which started with the publication of a briefing paper which was considered by the Strategic Planning Committee in (July 2018 agenda and minutes).

A Guide to Review of ASCA September 2018 was sent to Ward Members and Town/Parish Councils for the areas likely to be affected and feedback received used to prepare the consultation document, which was considered by the Strategic Planning Committee on 29 January 2019 (Agenda).

The proposed changes to the area covered by the ASCA and responses to the February/March consultation were considered by the Strategic Planning Committee on 10 June 2019.  It was resolved to recommend that Full Council amend the area covered by the ASCA and this was endorsed at the Council meeting on 24 July 2019.

Background to the ASCA

The ASCA was originally designated by Devon County Council in 1964 and is formally known as the 'County of Devon (North and East Devon Area of Special Control of Advertisements) Order'.  The original designation documents comprise:

1964 Documents
Axminster 1964 map
Beer 1964 map
Budleigh Salterton 1964 map
Exmouth 1964 map
Honiton 1964 map
Seaton 1964 map
Sidmouth 1964 map
Schedule 1964

The Order was modified in 1986 when additional land in Exmouth was removed from the ASCA.

1986 Documents
Exmouth amendment plan 1986
Exmouth amendment schedule 1986

The Order was modified again in 2002 when land in the town centre of Ottery St Mary was removed from the ASCA.

2002 Document
Ottery St Mary schedule and map 2002

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