High Specification Shroud Advertising

Hi everyone,

and thanks for all your comments. I’m now going to try to answer a few of the issues concerns which have been brought up. My company specialises in co-operating with city councils in order to introduce scaffold-shrouding in an organised structured and limited fashion. We only place shrouding on scaffolding and we only place shrouding using a permit system which is tightly controlled by the city planners. Also, we only produce shrouds to the very highest possible visual standards – and all shrouds must be properly placed within a speciallially measured and fitted framework.

In terms of the buildings which these shrouds are put on, they are only permitted on buildings which have been identified with the aid of the city council planners and which would benefit greatly from a serious injection of funding to carry out conservation works on them.

(I) my company has approached all of the city councils here in Dublin and have proposed a number of different buildings which we feel would be highly appropriate and would benefit greatly from the kind of funding that this concept can create. In most cases, we have been told that the Senior Planners are not interested. We have invited senior planners to come and visit any of the 15 other cities which we have introduced our concept of ‘building-conservation sponsorship’, where we will introduce them to other city planners who have for the last 5 years seen the benefit of introducing this concept to their cities. Any perceived difficulties or questions regarding the concept could at this point be answered. To date, all city planners have declined, or have not even answered our offer.

There was a fantastic opportunity to sponsor the conservation costs of cleaning the statues in Dublin city, and this proposal was made to the city 4-months before any cleaning work commenced on the statues. We believe that approximately, Euro 100,000 could have been raised by A-Class Advertising firms who are used to the concept of high-specification shroud advertising and who would have been very happy to use these A-Class locations as a very temporary advertising opportunity.
Please remember, the shrouding goes on the scaffold, not on the monument themselves.

Our offer to raise this kind of money to carry out these works, was also declined by the city.

I have very strong opinions on the matter of having a filthy dirty Dr.Quirky’s shroud hanging on O’Connell street – but it is probably best not to draw me out on this subject, I was hoping to have a relaxing evening.

We have made every effort to introduce this concept to Ireland in an open, honest and socially beneficial manner, and to date to say that we are being ignored would be an understatement.

As an outdoor advertising company we are completely against long-tem advertising of any form. Outdoor advertisng by its very nature must be very temporary (3-months max), must be of the very highest standard possible so that the general public like it, and must only be put on building sites (not derelict sites, as it is far to easy for the this definition to be abused).

I personnally strongly believe in high specification shroud-advertising, and this does not include any of the rubbish banners which are currently being placed all over Dublin city without any permission from the planning authorities. What seems to surprise a lot of people when I tell them is that I am also a lover of buildings and built-architecture – I strongly believe, and I have seen it work very successfully in other cities – that this concept has the potential to do a really graet amount of good for our cities’ built-architecture.

Does anyone have any tips on how to convince Irish Planners that there is some really great ideas and concepts happening in other great cities which need to be investigated…..and as a city planner it is essential to keep abreast of what new developments are happening in other cities.

One final answer to one of the above questions…..no my company will not do any business with any company that wants to put up a banner advertisement illegally. We have spent 10-months trying to convince senior planners in Ireland that shroud advertising can be a good thing if properly introduced. To date we have gotten nowhere. During this time we have not done any shroud-advertising business in Ireland – this despite the fact that shabby banners continue to go up on buildings all over Dublin on a regular basis.

My company has begun to focus its energy on UK where shroud-advertising is permitted under British Planning law. We are currently talking with Brighton city council, in using our concept to help pay for essential conservation works to be carried out on the Brighton Pavilion.

I can’t help but feel that a great opportunity has been lost in Dublin due to lack of interest.

Has anyone any good advise on how to progress this ? We strongly feel that if we are given the right opportunityto present our case to the right people (in Govt./ or elsewhere) that common sense will pull through on this matter.

Many thanks

PAUL O’MAHONY

,

Thanks guys once again for your comments and your guidance.

I am personnally very happy that the Council – at last – seems to be taking a more active role re.removal of the terrible examples of advertising and shop facade advertising that surround the O’Connell street area. I think we have to ask ourselves the question how on earth a lot of this advertising was permitted in the first place. As you know, the Council has recently designated a large area of inner city Dublin either a ‘conservation area’ or an ‘architectural conservation area’. This designation means that the Council now has far reaching powers to rectify what it sees as obvious breaches of planning rules re.architectural developments.

Whilst in theory, I fully agree with what the Council is doing with this designation, I also believe it is imperitive that the Council fully informs itself in relation to planning developemtents from other cities/countries. I am not saying that what is good for another city should be good enough for us here….what I am saying is that it is imperitive that the planners investigate this subject. Without equipping itself with full knowledge on any area of development it is not possible for a Planning Department to make a any sensible decisions.

All of our city councils have in their possession a listing of hundreds of derelict-sites, or properties with which there is no ownership papers for. It is usually, these very same properties which show us the worst cases of examples of billboards, 48-sheets, 96-sheets, posters etc. We need to ask ourselves the question why ? The reason that it is normally council sites which are covered in posters and billboards is because by offering a licenece to use these sites the Council is creating a significant revenue itself. Tenders are usually made out for these sites by city councils, with only one very large international outdoor advertising company in a position to win this tender. Because it is only possible to win this tender if you are an exceptionally large outdoor advertising company with very deep pockets, smaller advertising companies never get a look in. This is the reason that there is so many comapnies so quick to abuse the system.

I can understand people’s dislike of outdoor advertising. You may find it difficult to believe but 95% of the outdoor advertising I see around me everyday I believe to be a disgrace…..but this does not mean that all forms of outdoor advertsing should be banned. There is room in our cities for outdoor advertsing but it has to be severely regulated, by well-informed planners – and it should only be allowed if it is done to the highest possible standard.

I believe that high-spec shroud advertising done to the standards that can be seen in many other cities in Europe can breath life, fun, and energy into areas of our cities which hitherto were dark ugly places. If the shrouds also add funding to help restore the building it is placed against then in my view the social benefit of having shrouds far outweighs the negative effects.