London Local Authorities Act 2007

6 Advertisements: designation of areas

(1) A borough council may designate, in accordance with the following provisions of this section, areas comprising any of the following places or any part of such places in the borough as designated areas to which this section applies—

(a) a public off-street car park;

(b) a recreation ground, garden, park, pleasure ground or open place under the management or control of a borough council;

(c) a street or way to which the public commonly have access, whether or not as of right.

(2) The council shall exercise their powers under this section only in the interests of amenity and public safety, taking account of any material factors, and in particular—

(a) in the case of amenity—

(i) the general characteristics of the locality, including the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest;

(ii) the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of a conservation area, where appropriate,

disregarding, if they think fit, any advertisement being displayed there;

(b) in the case of public safety—

(i) the safety of any person who may use any road, railway, dock, harbour or aerodrome;

(ii) whether any display of advertisements is likely to obscure, or hinder the ready interpretation of, any road traffic sign, railway signal or aid to navigation by water or air.

(3) Before designating any area under this section, the council shall publish, or cause to be published, in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality, and on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, a notice that such a proposal has been made, naming a place or places in the locality where a map or maps defining the area concerned may be inspected at all reasonable hours.

(4) Any notice under subsection (3) above shall state that any objection to the proposal may be made to the proper officer of the borough council in writing within such period (not being less than 21 days from the date when the notice was published) as is specified in the notice.

(5) The council shall not designate an area under this section until after the expiry of the specified period.

(6) In determining whether to designate an area under this section, the council—

(a) shall take into account any objections made in accordance with subsection (4) above;

(b) may modify the proposal if—

(i) they have notified, in writing, any person who has made an objection or representation to them of their intention and their reasons for it and has given them a reasonable opportunity to respond; and

(ii) the intended modification does not extend the area of land specified in the proposal.

(7) Where the council designates an area under this section, they shall notify any person who has made an objection in accordance with subsection (4) above.

(8) Notice of the designation of a particular area shall be published by the council in at least one newspaper circulating in the locality and on the same or a subsequent date in the London Gazette, and such notice shall—

(a) contain a full statement of the effect of the designation;

(b) name a place or places in the locality where a copy of the designation and of a map defining the area concerned may be seen at all reasonable hours; and

(c) specify a date when the designation shall come into force, being at least 14 and not more than 28 days after the publication of the notice in the London Gazette.

(9) A designation shall come into force on the date specified in the notice given under subsection (8) above.

(10) In this section, “conservation area” means a conservation area designated under section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c. 9) (designation of conservation areas).