When the Rev. Rob Wilson of the Ridge Methodist Church received a £50 demand from Stockport Council’s planning department for the right to display a cross over his church, he thought they were joking.
Who: Ridge Methodist Church, Greater Mancheist Church, Greater Manchester and Stockport Council
When: February 2001
Where: Manchester
What happened:
When the Rev. Rob Wilson of the Ridge Methodist Church received a £50 demand from Stockport Council's planning department for the right to display a cross over his church, he thought they were joking. They were not. The Town & Country Planning Act 1990 defines "advertisement" as including "any word, letter, placard or board which is used to announce a site or direct passers-by". Ridge Church's three-foot illuminated cross hanging over the entrance was visible for two miles due to the Church's elevated position and therefore required planning permission, said the regulators, for which a £50 planning renewal fee was required every five years.
Why this matters:
Sometimes the most unlikely of outdoor signs turns out to be within the very wide definition of "advertising" for planning permission purposes.
