No place for this sign, say Planning
Thursday 24th November 2011, 2:58PM GMT.
The Broadlands sign overlooking the Royal Square
JUST weeks ago, estate agent Roger Trower took on the mighty Jersey Financial Services Commission by refusing to pay a new fee.
And now he has picked a fight with a new enemy – the Planning department.
The department has ordered the Broadlands director to remove an advertising sign painted on the side of his building, overlooking the Royal Square.
He argued that archive photographs showed that there used to be signs around the square, but to no avail. And he says that he is prepared to do battle with the department in the Royal Square to keep the sign up.
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Wednesday 22 February
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I don’t see a problem with the sign. Planning are useless, Allow hideous buildings to be constructed and moan over a sign! Says it all really.
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Times must be bad for estate agents still job done now nice BIG free advert in jep tonight with this story,very clever!!
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Is that all they have to worry about. It’s tastefully done, unlike the neon sign at charring cross
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Good on you Roger. Keep up the good work. Please see my response (Leave to Reply) to the article in today’s JEP entitled ” Jobs will go unless States back Construction Industry”.
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the house in the first tower area, up mont cochon which was owned by the late mr bission , a well known local person .( sadly gone)
was full of all manner of signage , biblical scriptures , various quotes.
sadly i could not afford mr bission’s home when it came up for sale as i wanted to preserve it as a bit of local history.
and agree with james (1).
broadlands offices are a fine example of a good old jersey building , looks ok to me
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I note however that the States of Jersey are perfectly at liberty to create 6 storey high advertising stations up the sides of their multi storey carparks- no questions asked. I trust that the planner concerned will be wheeled down to Sand Street, Minden Place and Green Street to take a look at these monstrosities which look like something out of north east London.
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I am with you Judge.
Time to get to work Mr Yound as the newly elected deputy and chair of planning scrutiny I suggest Mr Trower makes an appointment to have a chat with you and then you could ask your old department why they allowed the car park trash signs but try to ban Rogers.
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It is rather obtrusive.
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Just to add some balance. No it isn’t.
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Oh yes it is
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It’s behind you ! Well, it is nearly panto season.
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It is not has bad as the Mac Donald bins and far better than the crappy Odeon .
I can’t believe they turned down a multi- million deal to restore that monstrosity.
At least it is clean and freshly painted.
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Go Roger – Your the Man. Most Jersey people, just like you, have had enough of fiddling meddling, bureaucrats and government half-wits
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How can they sanction Portelet and object to this in the middle of town??
Perhaps you could put your sign next to the Raddisson,Roger.Looking out over the marina.
That would for sure be passed.
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Anyone and everyone with simple common sense knows and can see there is no problem with this sign Mr Trower clearly has no connections in the right places. I did not see anyone from planning coming to the rescue when a certain beautiful historical Grade A listed building was allegedly illegally bulldozed down at around 5am one summers morning. What Mr Trower needs to do in this case is to find or at least try and find evidence of some form of original advertising on that particular elevation of his building, sadly to have to go to these lengths are extreme but what can one do!!
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Seems quite nice I think!
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Looks great to me… how about officialdom concentrate on the important issues…
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Pleased this issue has been raised.
I have seen this sign there for about a year now, and non to keen on it being in the Royal Square.
The rest of us have to comply with local laws, does this man think he above everyone else?
The sooner that sign get painted over the better.
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My the boys and girls at the office have been busy with messages of support. Lol…
Sign needs to go, sorry!
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batcave, let me deal with your closely-argued comment in detail:
“My the boys and girls at the office have been busy with messages of support. Lol…”
Actually, of course, you don’t have the faintest idea who’s been supporting Mr Trower’s position in this argument, but you rather hoped you might sound clever. You only succeed in sounding rather intolerant and unpleasant.
“Sign needs to go, sorry”
i.e. you don’t expect govt depts to provide cogent reasons for their decisions, so long as the decisions suit you. And you’re not sorry.
Now, why did you bother commenting on this story, exactly, since you didn’t want to say a single useful thing?
(Oh, and by the way, before you start the same pathetic stuff again – I don’t know Roger Trower, or his company, and the sign looks just like a sign to me.)
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Jerry you accusing Batcave of being intolerant!! I think that describes you judging by your response. What make you so superior? I bet your name isn’t even Jerry and you live alone in a bedsit pressing creases into your pyjamas. There again maybe Jerry does suit.
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Batcave’s mate for Chief Minister ….! Id vote for you.
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More civil servants with nothing to do except ruin other peoples lives. leave the man alone.
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Mr Trower……..A touch of class-well done!
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Agreed!!!
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Come on guys, it’s more than obstrusive; in fact, it’s right in your face.I have some sympathy for Roger Trower on the other matter, but those huge letters down the side of this building is hardly appropriate in Royal Square and remember, once the precedent is set, it’s open to all and every one to billboard buildings in the best possible taste,that is,of course in the view of the beholder.
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I think its rather tastefully done, and doesnt look out of place with the “feel” of the building.
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Right – so a classy sign that happens to be next to an old boys private club isn’t allowed, but no problem for Normans to paint an entire row of buildings a garish yellow and now we have a tacky looking electronic sign opposite the crapaud on a stick…
Seems more than a little conicidental that this has come up right after the owner refused to pay a new fee/stealth tax.
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#9
‘Go Roger – Your the Man. Most Jersey people, just like you, have had enough of fiddling meddling, bureaucrats and government half-wits’
Yes, go Roger. Most Jersey people, just like me, have had enough of estate agents hyping up house prices to fund their over inflated lifestyles.
Why not go now? Leave the sign for posterity to remember the days of greed.
As signs go, it is quite tasteful. Nothing like as obscene as the trade.
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Let’s go back to the swinging 60s and neon signs for booze all over town! It never hurt anyone, gave us something to look at
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At least he didn’t paint it green !
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No such thing as bad publicity eh?
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Roger upset the States over some payment he did not agree with.
This is now payback time, they will hound him now, that is their style!
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Roger..apparently you dared not to bend the knee and touch the forelock like a good little serf….dissent….now you should know better…if you are not compliant and beige and totally,subserviant and a touche kisser…you must be punished…sorry that’s how it is….no wonder you get angry man.
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Obviously folk in planning with SFA to do.
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Mr Trower’s becoming a bit of an embarrassement and obviously thinks the rules don’t apply to him.
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The historic buildings in the Royal Square enhance St Helier; there aren’t that many left. Thankfully, there are a few pockets of historic buildings around town, including one or two well preserved examples of shops in French Lane.
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29 Bill
Do you mean those two old worn-out eyesores in French Lane (one of which used to be a hairdresser)? They should have been condemmed years ago.
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Yes, they are good examples of historic architecture. Quite a few people think so, including, believe it or not, the Court of Appeal!
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Roger Trower sees himself as some sort of Jeremy Clarkson of the Royal Square.
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31 Selling gold?
If they were horses, they would have shot them.
Nigel Pearce (retired).
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33; Very apt; the applicant’s expert argued (in relation to the fact that much of Hilgrove Street had been destroyed in the 1970s) that it was like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted. Fortunately, the historic building experts, the planning committee, the Royal Court and the Court of Appeal each disagreed. If the buildings had been restored when all of this was taking place some 8 years ago, the “horses” would not be so knackered now! Nicky Knocker (retired)
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It does look a bit daft there. Probably says rather more about the company’s approach to historic buildings and settings than anything else.
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What a load of cobblers. “Tastefully done”.I would have thought that Broadlands, if they had an ounce of taste,would have placed a large sticky tape over Roger’s mouth,as he’s on the road to doing a Ratner.
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