Supermarket billboard gets go-ahead

COLIN WILLIAMS/Upper Hutt Leader

SIGNED OFF: The Pak 'n Save sign, with the now agreed and allowable wording and branding on St Patrick's College land in Fergusson Dr.

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Upper Hutt Leader

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Agreement after formal mediation through the Environment Court has allowed for increased wording and branding on a Pak 'n Save billboard on St Patrick's College farm land in Fergusson Dr.

Pak 'n Save owner-operator Michael Kelly is satisfied with the outcome, detailed in a recent court consent order, which overturns an Upper Hutt City Council planning decision from late 2008.

That city ruling outlawed the "periodic alteration" of the then already two-year old billboard, which contained a single Pak 'n Save logo.

In its decision, the council committee overturned a recommendation from its planning officers, arguing any regular changing of the sign's wording would be "capable of being an additional distraction to motorists [and] could be to the detriment of traffic safety".

At the time Mr Kelly said the council had made "an emotional decision" and promised he would challenge the decision in the Environment Court.

The mediation which produced the agreement is a required legal stage before any court hearings.

The consent order contains several conditions but left Mr Kelly "happy with what we got".

The conditions include display branding for Pak 'n Save only  not product advertising  with a maximum of 10 words, and limitations on the size and height of their characters.

The billboard's wording can be changed up to six times a year and the brand logo once.

- Upper Hutt Leader