Pawn Shop Seeks Retrospective Approval for ‘Garish’ Signs on Listed Building

A pawn shop has applied to retain signs, described as “garish” by a civic society, which it installed on a listed building without prior permission. The blue and yellow signs were erected on the building, located on the corner of Kirkgate and Bank Street in Bradford, during September. The property, Pearl Assurance House, was constructed in 1876 and is designated as Grade II listed. No planning applications were submitted before the signs were put in place, leading the Bradford Civic Society to urge the city council to investigate the matter. The company, Cash Generators, has since submitted applications for both retrospective advertising consent and listed building consent for the signage. Submitted by a Mr Moore, the application contains limited detail, only confirming that the work was completed in early October, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. In September, the Bradford Civic Society cautioned that the “garish” signs were unsympathetic to Pearl Assurance House, a building designed by acclaimed architects Lockwood and Mawson, and could potentially cause “irreparable harm.” In a related instance, when the British Heart Foundation opened a store in the neighbouring unit, the charity was required to submit a planning application for new signage and subsequently had to re-draw those plans after concerns arose that the initial design did not complement the building’s grandeur. A decision on the two applications is expected before the end of the year.