The clock is ticking on outdoor advertisement signage erected by advertising company JC Decaux as part of the dublinbikes deal with Dublin City Council 15 years ago.
The company was granted permission in 2007 to install more than 70 advertising display structures in exchange for the provision of 450 rental bikes at locations around the city.
The “ads for bikes” scheme was controversial at the time with many objecting to the large number of signs approved, the potential for on-street clutter, and the lengthy duration of the advertising deal.
However, the scheme proved popular and the council agreed to allow an additional 10 signs in exchange for 100 extra bikes, with the last four of those signs approved in 2016.
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A condition of the 2007 planning permissions required that the signs would be “removed not later than 15 years from the date of erection of the advertisement structure and the site of the structure reinstated unless planning permission has been granted for its retention before that date”.
JC Decaux has confirmed that it began installing the signs in 2008, before the start of the dublinbikes scheme a year later. This means permission to use the sites for advertising will lapse later this year. The company, if it chooses to seek an extension for the signs, will have to comply with the terms of the new Dublin City Development Plan which puts tighter restrictions on outdoor advertising.
Just before Christmas the company, instead of applying to retain the signs, sought to replace a number of them with upgraded digital displays.
A total of 15 applications for signage replacements were made in December, four in relation to upgrading the newer signs granted permission in 2016. Of the 11 older signs, the council granted permission to replace three, declared one invalid due to an error in the application, refused permission for one, and raised concerns about the remaining seven which JC Decaux must address before the planners will consider the applications.
The sign refused permission, located on Church Street, would be in conflict with the new development plan, the council said, with “undue negative impact on the visual amenity of the surrounding area”.
Of the seven which are on hold, planners also cited the new development plan which contains provisions in relation to the proximity of digital displays to homes, to protect residents from “increased luminosity”. Planners also raised compliance issues associated with the existing signs, as well as potential conflicts with core bus corridors in the new BusConnects programme, the council said.
Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan, who lodged objections to several of the signs, said the new development plan had “changed the landscape” on the future of many of the signs. She also pointed out the energy use associated with the replacement screens was excessive.
“The environmental impact of LED screens is enormous. The screens use huge amounts of energy. This screen could use the electricity, and fossil fuels required to generate that electricity, equivalent to multiple households,” she said.
In response to queries JC Decaux said as the first signs were installed in 2008, they were “still compliant”. When asked if it intended to apply for the retention or replacement of the signs, or would remove them after the 15-year period, it said: “This has not yet been confirmed with Dublin City Council, however we are in contract until 2027.” The company added that the signs “contribute to the financing of the dublinbikes scheme”.
