Crude signage at recently opened pawnbroker in Bradford on listed building “causes immediate visual harm”
In September a new branch of national company Cash Generator opened in a unit on the ground floor of Pearl Assurance House, on the corner of Kirkgate and Bank Street.
The building bates back to the 1870s, was designed by acclaimed architects Lockwood and Mawson and is Grade II listed.
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Hide AdBut there were concerns about the business even before it opened due to the company installing bright blue and yellow signage on the property without applying for listed building consent.


Normally any change to a listed building requires approval from the local planning authority.
The business went on to submit a retrospective planning application for the work in November.
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Hide AdBut now those plans have been refused by Bradford Council, with planners describing the signage as an “incongruous feature” in the City Centre Conservation Area.
The Council’s Conservation Officer Jon Ackroyd had criticised the work, saying: “The building is Grade II listed and displays bold Italianate architectural detailing, designed by eminent architects Lockwood & Mawson.
“The scale of the building and quality of the architectural embellishment brings a very strong contribution to the conservation area.
“The presentation of the building at ground floor is undermined by poor quality 20th century shopfronts and roller shutters. These were however, previously somewhat mitigated by dark and subdued colouring.
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Hide Ad“The installed and applied for signage comprises five box fascia signs across the three elevations of the building. These are internally illuminated.
“The size, projecting form, colour and internal illumination of the signs all combine to create a very strident and crude appearance which conflicts with the listed building.
“The effect has been further compounded by the painting of boarded pilasters, shopfronts and external shutter boxes in the same strident colour.
“The implemented signage causes immediate visual harm to the listed building and city centre conservation area environment.”
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Hide AdThere had also been two public objections to the plans, describing the work as “out of character” and criticising the company for installing the signs weeks before applying for permission for work to the listed building.
The application was refused by Bradford Council on Monday.
Officers said: “The external signage detracts from the character and appearance of the Grade II Listed Building and the wider Conservation Area appearing as an incongruous feature within the vicinity, creating a strident feature in the street scene which fails to preserve or enhance the character.”
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