TEXT on hoardings around a former Romsey care home have been refused by borough council planners. 

Churchill Retirement Living put purple hoardings around the former Edwina Mountbatten House in Broadwater Road.

A planning application for 47 retirement flats at the site was refused by Test Valley Borough Council's southern area planning in March. An appeal was subsequently lodged. 

In the meantime, the text on the hoardings has been removed after the council decided that it contributed to the 'visual clutter within the street scene'. 

READ MORE: Edwina Mountbatten House: Appeal lodged over controversial plans

Three public objections were received as well as opposition from Test Valley Borough Council's conservation officer, Romsey and District Society and Romsey Town Council's planning committee. 

Conservation officer Margaret Bennett said: “It is not considered the changes are sufficient to meaningfully alter the additional visual impact the advertising would cause the hoardings to have, and therefore the concerns previously raised are not overcome.”

The application was refused using delegated powers on June 20. The planning officers' report said: “Whilst the hoardings have been considered acceptable under a separate planning application, the proposed advertisement signs are considered to contribute to visual clutter within the street scene and would be excessive in nature, particularly with no planning permission in place. 

“The signage is poorly placed and would be visually dominant within the street scene and result in an adverse impact on the visual amenity of the residential area in which they are located, contrary to the NPPF 2023.”