Clarence City Council has overturned its planning officers’ recommendation and given the green light to a large digital billboard on the Tasman Highway.
The LED sign, planned for the eastern shore approach to the Tasman Bridge, was originally recommended for refusal after road authorities raised safety concerns about installing it in what they called a ‘demanding driving environment’.
Located on Clarence Sports Centre land at Montagu Bay, the sign was approved at the July council meeting, with councillors divided over whether it could pose a distraction to drivers.
The stretch of highway in question has three lanes merging into one near the Rosny Hill interchange, with drivers needing to weave and merge as they head towards the bridge.
A Bishopp Advertising staff member told councillors a traffic analyst had found the site to be low risk, based on crash data and road conditions.
“Never once in the past 12 years has there been a single complaint or allegation that distraction from a screen leads to car accidents,” he said.
NSFSRA President Stephen King, whose organisation runs the Clarence Sports Centre, said the extra revenue from the billboard would be a big help financially.
He said it would go towards some of the annual running costs of around $150,000 for cleaning and $200,000 for staff.
“The difference this would make to us as an organisation is immense. The revenue that we can receive from this helps us keep costs down,” he said.
Councillor Beth Warren opposed the plan, arguing it would be unsafe.
“This is an advertising board. The sole purpose of this board is to attract your attention, to distract you so that you read the message,” she said.
“Does that mean that we then have to approve every other application along this strip so that we turn into the Gold Coast or Las Vegas, where we have sign after sign trying to get your attention?”
Councillor Tony Mulder successfully moved for approval, pointing out that the area had seen “seven rear-end low-speed collisions with only one that resulted in first aid” and “no serious or casualty crashes”.
Under the approval, the billboard must only operate between sunrise and 11pm, display static images for at least 45 seconds each and have adjustable brightness controls.
