Cardiff Council has approved a large digital advertising display at Coryton Roundabout despite concerns from the local community
It is one of the UK’s biggest roundabouts in the entire UK and now a massive cinema screen style digital billboard is set to dominate the skyline above it.
Cardiff Council has given the green light to an enormous 96-sheet digital advertising display on land beside Coryton Roundabout and Merthyr Road.
The board will feature a 12x3m display and be mounted on supporting fencing slightly over a metre in height.
Throughout the planning process, Tongwynlais Community Council, the local community body, voiced several concerns.
It stated: “Due to the size of the proposed display and the suggested location, adjacent to a busy interchange serving connections to the M4 and A470 as well as local roads, the community council feel this could pose a distraction for motorists.”
Additional concerns include the potential impact on the neighbouring wildflower meadow where “rare flowers” grow, and the proximity of a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and Local Nature Reserve. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here
The community council continued: “Although the road is between the proposed sign and the SINC, wildlife may still be affected, in particular by the effect of the light intensity of the display and the frequency of the light from it.
“Bats and other nocturnal species can be affected by light projecting upwards and by the colour temperature of the lights.”
It also questioned what advertisements would appear on the board and “what benefit this will have to the local village and community”. The officer’s report recommending approval stated: “It is considered that the advertisements would not have any adverse impact upon highway safety or pedestrian safety, as confirmed by consultation with Traffic and Transportation.”
Responding to environmental concerns, the report noted these were “acknowledged but best addressed by the comments from Ecology, who did not raise objections in this respect.”
The advertising consent was granted subject to several conditions, including restrictions on “maximum luminance” during both daylight and darkness, minimum display duration for advertisements, a prohibition on moving images and a ban on images resembling “official road traffic signs, traffic lights or traffic matrix signs”.
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