Town hall officials are looking into the sudden appearance of a large illuminated billboard near a busy motorway junction Blackburn with Darwen planning department isinvestigating whether the advert at the junction of the A666 Blackburn Road and Earcroft Way near Junction Four of the M65 has the necessary permissions.
It follows a Darwen resident raising the billboard with local councillors claiming it is ‘dangerous and distracting’ to drivers. The road safety campaigner known as Fred contacted Darwen West ward’s Cllr Dave Smith and Darwen South’s Anthony Shaw on the issue.
Cllr Smith, who chairs Blackburn with Darwen Council planning and highways committee, has referred the billboard to Blackburn with Darwen Council’s planning enforcement team. Fred told the Lancashire Telegraph: “I was very surprised to see this sign board.
“It appeared over night at the junction of the A666 and Earcroft Way – on the left hand side as you turn into Earcroft Way from the A666. It’s very dangerous and distracting as I wasn’t expecting to be illuminated by such dazzling glare at a point where I was trying to negotiate the corner from the lights.
“The trouble is you cannot actually see what is on the board, making it redundant as far as advertising goes. At the critical point heading to the motorway the board is hidden behind the speed limit sign and a lamppost – possibly meaning people won’t see the traffic sign in the glare.
“Coming the other way up Earcroft Way the sign is so far over to the right that you would have to look out of the drivers side window to look at the board, thus not actually looking where you are driving. It is so bright I shouldn’t be surprised if you can see it from Darwen Tower!
“It is illegal to view videos (or anything else for that matter) on hand held smart phones whilst driving, so why it is legal to be confronted with what amounts to a massive television. It needs taking down pronto, or at least putting in a more sensible and considerate place.
“I am sure these signs are fine in cities where speeds are relatively low, but here on Earcroft Way drivers are going past at around 40 mph. The screen is actually a massive distraction.
“One wonders who has even allowed such a monstrosity to be allowed there.” Cllr Smith said: “I have requested that planning enforcement go down there and take a look to see whether the illuminated billboard needs or has planning permission or not.”
He told Fred in an email: “It’s probably unauthorised. Your video illustrates a problem here with the street furniture.”
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