I’m a Green Party councillor for City Ward #Sheffield. It’s a densely populated urban ward. I’m going to talk about digital advertising screens, which don’t sound exciting, but please bear with me. I want to explain why I spend time objecting to so many of these.
Since 2023, I’ve put in 31 objections to new applications for these. Sheffield already has 926 digital advertising sites (billboards, bus shelter ads, free-standing screens). They look awful, but worse, they clutter up pavement space, getting in the way of pedestrians, mobility scooters, and pushchairs. The ads often promote harmful products like gambling & fast food. And if placed roadside, they’re distracting, with bright, fast-changing images pulling drivers’ attention from the road. They’ve proven to be a direct cause of crashes, endangering pedestrians, cyclists & other drivers, and there’s more to the problem. They are actively making things worse for the city, compounding inequalities in health and wealth.
These digital billboards are concentrated mostly in lower-income areas. Residents & businesses aren’t notified of the plans, so they don’t have a chance to comment, and on top of that, they are huge energy-guzzlers. Each electronic billboard consumes as much as 6 average UK homes. That’s nearly 6,000 homes, just from Sheffield billboards alone. Half of my objections to these have been successful, and planning permission has been refused. But more applications keep coming.
How many more of these billboards will we tolerate? What’s your experience of digital billboards? Does it matter to you? Are they common where you live? Do you drive by them? Are they in your way? Do you see adverts for things that interest you? What are your thoughts on these?
Cllr Ruth Mersereau, City Ward