Pharmacy boss left fuming after planning application denied

Newdays boss Olivier Picard has been left £6,000 out of pocket after a retrospective planning application for exterior lights and signage at his Twyford Pharmacy was turned down by Wokingham Borough Council.

In July of this year two internationally recognised ‘green cross’ lights plus a digital messaging system were installed on the exterior of his high street business.

Their purpose was to inform locals of new medical services and to alert others to the location of the pharmacy but soon after installation, Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) asked Olivier to turn the lights off and seek retrospective permission.

On December 8 a refusal notice was issued.

The decision was based largely on the fact that the pharmacy’s building falls within the Twyford Conservation Area, a protection order set up to honour the village’s Victorian heritage.

According to the Local Plan, WBC will ‘only permit outdoor advertisements where they demonstrate there is no harmful impact on the character or appearance of the area’.

At 4.17m high the crosses and being internally illuminated, the signage was deemed to breach regulation.

Planning bosses at WBC did offer Olivier an alternative option during a ‘negotiation period’.

“What happened is a bit laughable,” said Olivier.

“They asked me to agree that the crosses could stay on the building as long as they were never switched on and if they were lowered slightly.

“Apparently you can’t have an internally illuminated sign but you could have a lightbulb shining on it.

“I said the point of the pharmacy crosses is to highlight that ‘we are here’ so having them switched off is not realistic.

“Then they asked me to consider painting them green. That to me is unreal, to paint across LED lights.”

Oliver said that he feels aggrieved and disappointed by the decision.

“It is just unfair. They wasted my time and my money and now they are telling me to paint them green or leave them off forever.

“A government website says that human and veterinary health are exempt from planning application and WBC’s answer was ‘yes, but not in a conservation area’.”

Shortly after turning off the lights and seeking retrospective planning in October, scores of villagers sent their messages of support via WBC’s planning portal.

Noted in the planning officer’s report were comments such as ‘supports a key community service’ ‘easier to find the pharmacy in an emergency’ and ‘assists the elderly and vision impaired people in finding the pharmacy’.

It also flags that leader of WBC and Twyford parish councillor Stephen Conway (Lib Dem) wrote in support of the signage, with advisements such as to ‘stop the lights from flashing’ and ‘keep them on during business hours only.’

However, the report concludes: ‘While comments received in support of the application have been taken into consideration, the limited public benefits do not outweigh the identified harm in this instance.’

“I am really disgusted at the attitude of the Wokingham council which has basically disregarded all the views of the local population,” said Olivier.

From January, pharmacies up and down the country will be part of a ‘Pharmacy First’ scheme issued by the NHS to take pressure off of frontline systems.

Olivier feels the signage would help to remind people to use their pharmacies more.

“We want to be able to say ‘ear consultations available’ ‘sore throat consultations available’ ‘children's appointments available’ we wanted to remind people of what have now been asked to do by the NHS but clearly that is not possible.”

Despite the struggle of the last few months, and the expense of purchasing £5,500 worth of lights that must now stay switched off, Newdays will carry on supporting the community.

“We are going to continue serving people but the importance of the cross is to remind people and passers-by that we offer services on their doorstep.

“The danger is people go online like they do for everything else. The crosses are part of investing in the pharmacy, reminding people how to access health services where they live and providing a future for the pharmacy that means that we are here for them for longer, for ever.”

Olivier is considering an appeal against the planning decision.