The developer behind a Leon drive-thru in Harrogate has been ordered to take down an eight-metre advertising sign after it was put up without permission.
Pictures from the Wetherby Road site show a sign advertising a Leon restaurant being erected yesterday.
The developer has applied for the installation of 15 advertising boards, which include drive-thru directions, menus and a height restrictor bar.
However, Harrogate Borough Council has yet to approve the advertisements.
Joe Shields, a resident who lives directly opposite the drive-thru, saw the pole being put in place by contractors at around 8am in the morning. He alerted planning officers to the situation.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Mr Shields said he was disappointed that the developer had erected the sign without permission.
Mr Shields said:
“There are changes at the site on a daily basis.
“My impression is that they will just continue wacking this [the Leon] up.”
The current construction site at the Leon on Wetherby Road.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed that a planning officer attended the Wetherby Road site to order that the advertisement be taken down.
The spokesperson added:
“We have also received an application for advertising at the site. Any works undertaken before the application is at the applicant’s own risk.”
The Stray Ferret asked Euro Garages for a response on the advertisement, but it declined to comment.
£25,000 appeal costs
The move comes as the borough council has agreed to pay Euro Garages £25,000 in appeal costs over the development.
Last year, Helen Hockenhull, a government planning inspector, granted permission for a Starbucks drive-thru on the former Dental surgery site.
It has since emerged that the site will become a Leon drive-thru instead.
Read more:
- New Harrogate Leon set to open early May
- Harrogate council to pay Leon developer £25,000 in appeal costs
Ms Hockenhull awarded costs against the council after she said it “demonstrated unreasonable behaviour”.
The council turned down the development back in 2019 on air quality and highways grounds, but later withdrew its objection.
The move forced residents fighting the proposal to defend the authority’s reasons for refusal at the hearing.
