The Planning Authority has published a draft legal notice which sets out new planning parameters and criteria on outdoor advertising with particular emphasis on billboards. These proposed regulations primarily seek to ensure that the display of outdoor advertisements is of a high design standard that will not have an unacceptable visual impact or affect road safety conditions.
The draft regulations include maps of roads where billboards may be located, subject to development permission. In certain cases, the maps clearly indicate the maximum number of billboards that will be allowed. Apart from billboards and subject to the clearance from Transport Malta, the Authority will only consider other outdoor advertisements along arterial and distributor roads not in the list of maps, in business and enterprise hubs and more sensitively in local centres and mixed-use areas.
To minimize traffic safety hazards, the regulations also spell out the technical conditions which billboards need to adhere to as identified by Transport Malta. Billboard owners will also be obliged to pay Transport Malta an annual fee of € 1,500, for every permitted billboard.
The proposed regulations seek to find a balance between the commercial interest of operators and advertisers to publicize their products and activities and the legitimate concerns to protect the environment and to seek to blend this type of 'development' into its surroundings.
To ensure better enforcement, the regulations oblige that every permitted billboard structure will bear the Authority's reference number in a form that is permanently, clear and legibly displayed. In cases, where the Authority cannot identify the operator of an illegal billboard, the Authority shall have the right to remove the said billboard at the expense of the company to which the advertisement refers to.
The regulations exempt certain types of advertisements from needing planning permission. Such adverts include political advertisements, an advertisement for a village feast, an advertisement displayed on the façade of a retail store provided the size of the sign is not more than 0.5m2 and is fitted flat against the façade and an advertisement which forms an integral part of an aperture amongst other cases.
The proposed regulations also make the provision that large-scale advertising, of more than 18m2, may be considered in predominantly commercial surroundings provided that the scale and nature of the buildings may be sufficiently large to accommodate the advert without any adverse effects on visual amenity.
Should this legal notice come into force, the 2016 Billboards and Advertisements Regulations, together with the Policy & Design Guidance - Billboards & Signs (2007) will be repealed.
The draft legal notice and the respective maps may be viewed on www.pa.org.mt/public-consultation. Individuals and organisations are invited to send their representation pertaining to this draft legal notice in writing through email address [email protected] by not later than 10th April 2017.