Curtain Falls On Belfast's Big Screen

A proposal to erect a Piccadilly Circus-style advertising screen on a prominent Belfast building has been blocked by planners.

Property company, Lebreh Ltd had sought permission to put up the 5.5m by 4m screen on the building in Bradbury place in the city centre.

Lebreh Ltd is owned my Michael Herbert, owner of Europe’s largest Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise through his Belfast-based Herbel Restaurants company.

However, planners have decided that such a sign would "detract unacceptably from the appearance of the host building," reported the BBC this week.

Lebreh argued that the new display, which would be on the corner of a KFC restaurant at the foot of the street, would add to the vibrancy of the area.

The company said the screen would become a landmark feature and emulate, in a small way, digital displays found at Piccadilly Circus in London and Times Square in New York.

Lebreh said the screen would not be unacceptably dominant and would displace other signs rather than adding to "harmful clutter" on the building, which itself was of "little architectural merit".

However, the Planning Appeals Commission has ruled that historical features of the property give the building "visual interest and rhythm" and the proportions of the screen would not "relate well to the elevation".

The planners were asked to take into consideration consent that was given in 1998 for the larger "Scannervision" screen displayed on a nearby building.

This was dismissed by planners, however, who said it was irrelevant as that screen is no longer in place in the area and new planning regulations have since been issued.

Mr Herbert was recently included in the Sunday Times Rich List.

He is the tenth wealthiest person in Northern Ireland, with a fortune of £145m.

(NS/GK)