THE REJECTION of plans for a digital hub that would have blocked deliveries to a row of shops has been called a victory for common sense.
A 2.6-metre tall sign had been proposed for Broad Street with a large advertising screen on one side and a touch screen offering free wifi and calls to landlines, as well as a defibrillator, on the other.
But businesses said the hub was proposed in the exact spot that vans use to make deliveries and warned that drivers would be left with no room to stop without blocking the thoroughfare.
STREET: Pokemon fans queue for special 30th anniversary merchandise outside Toys and Games in Broad Street, Worcester (Image: Toys and Games of Worcester)
The hub, proposed by In Focus Network Ltd, has now been rejected by Worcester City Council, which has also turned down a number of similar schemes in the past couple of years.
“It was a crazy location – I’m really pleased,” said Tim Evans, who runs Toys and Games in Broad Street.
“It’s a good decision. Common sense has prevailed – pedestrians and deliveries will not be blocked.”
Mr Evans admitted: “It had been playing on my mind.”
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The shop showed its well-tested system for queueing in the high street recently when Pokémon fans lined up to get their hands on official merchandise to mark the 30th anniversary of the global phenomenon.
“It’s a pretty slick operation – it should be after 22 years,” Mr Evans joked.
City council leader Lynn Denham had objected to the plans, saying the installation would be “a retrograde step and have a negative impact on Worcester’s welcoming environment for visitors”.
SCREEN: A mock-up of a digital advertising hub like the units proposed for Worcester city centre (Image: JCDecaux)
She said there was “no clear and convincing justification for the proposal and the public benefits that flow from the development are insufficient to outweigh the harm”.
Sum In Ngai, who is planning to turn 48 Broad Street into a tearoom, said the hub would have had a negative impact on the Grade II listed building and said a network of “large illuminated digital structures” would alter the character of Worcester’s historic city centre.
Plans for four more digital hubs in Broad Street and High Street have also been refused.
