Tattoo shop owner told to take shop sign down after planning permission refusal

1:10pm Friday 22nd February 2013 in News By Rebecca Cain

Gary Johnson (owner) and Will Burgess (tattooist) Gary Johnson (owner) and Will Burgess (tattooist)

A TATTOO shop owner said he believes the planning system is flawed after he was forced to take down a £2,500 sign.

Anatomy Tattoo opened in November in Duke Street, Princes Risborough.

Gary Johnson who runs the shop with Simon Smith, said they put up a new shop sign, unaware that they had to get planning permission.

Once they found out they applied for restrospective permission but this had been refused.

Wycombe District Council planning department told Mr Johnson the sign's size and scale has a detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the existing building, street scene and the Princes Risborough Conservation Area.

The sign is 900mm high by 4790mm width and 50mm depth.

He said: "If we had been a cafe would we have had to take it down? It just seems a bit severe.

"It looks rubbish now we have taken the sign down. We have got a £2,500 sign sitting in the back garden."

Planning permission was given for the Gorgeous Giggle sign in February 2011 but the sign was smaller at 520mm by 4000mm by 50mm.

Boots Opticians gained permission for a sign in August 2010 of 650mm by 650mm and 70mm.

Comments(15)

Slacker says...
1:37pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Surely basic common sense says if you are opening a new shop you would enquire with the council first regarding any planning permissions that may be needed?

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pebrey says...
1:41pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Good to see that in times when the high streets are full of empty shops, the council are doing their best to promote new businesses.

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Good Life says...
2:07pm Fri 22 Feb 13

pebrey wrote:
Good to see that in times when the high streets are full of empty shops, the council are doing their best to promote new businesses.
Why does a tattoo establishment need a shop front anyway and with a massive sign thought these body abuse establishments were more suited to the back streets of major towns!

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buser says...
2:17pm Fri 22 Feb 13

The Boots sign was 650mmx650mm? (Approx. 26"x26") That looks like a BFP misprint! 6500mmx650mm would sound more plausible, in which case, 4790mmx900mm would actually only be larger by a relatively small area. Possibly the Boots frontage is overall wider and the objection is based on the height of the sign in question, which is 250cm (10") higher than those Boots. Mathematics aside, have to agree with Slacker, common sense to check permissions first.

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buser says...
3:38pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Good Life wrote:
pebrey wrote:
Good to see that in times when the high streets are full of empty shops, the council are doing their best to promote new businesses.
Why does a tattoo establishment need a shop front anyway and with a massive sign thought these body abuse establishments were more suited to the back streets of major towns!
Like it or not, approve or not, body-art is now extremely popular and no longer a 'back street' business. It might well be a passing fashion, but it has certainly been around for a long time to the point where somebody believes that even 'posh' towns like a Princes Risborough, can support this business. The query here is not the business but the size of the sign which was erected without the necessary permissions.

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dawnellis says...
3:44pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Amazes me that the council have so much time to waste on hard working honest people ,who probably pay over the odds on rates and are not getting handouts from the state
leave these small business to grow and flourish and go and fill some pot holes !

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Swains says...
3:48pm Fri 22 Feb 13

The sign is not offensive and we do need to be supporting any new business on our High Streets. I would much prefer to see this business than another of the large chains that are allowed to totally obliterate our towns and villages. These people are Artists not body abusers, it is an individuals choice if they choose to have a tattoo. Good life sounds like a bit of a nimby to me.

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Yorkshiretyke1 says...
5:32pm Fri 22 Feb 13

The original planning permission, available to all on the WDC website clearly stated that there would be no change to the shopfront. Pretty clear!!

That was an awful sign

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buser says...
5:56pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Yorkshiretyke1 wrote:
The original planning permission, available to all on the WDC website clearly stated that there would be no change to the shopfront. Pretty clear!!

That was an awful sign
Sure, but you would expect to put your own name/ sign above the shop. Probably, thinking it out, and in view of the planning permission, you would have made your sign approximately the same size as the existing shop sign or at least those on adjoining shops rather than going super size. As always, it is easy to be wise in retrospect.

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bayriver says...
6:24pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Wow, that sure is a sign. Perhaps try and blend in with the surrounding properties ! Oh i forgot you are a tattoo artist, you dont do blending in !! It is a ridiculous size, completely out of scale and proportion to the shop !! But good luck to you, starting a new business is not easy in the current climate ......

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Mr Totterdge Hill says...
7:55pm Fri 22 Feb 13

Very petty... have the silly council dolt's got nothing better to do?

Nope, they let deluxe back garden sheds built all over the place, but they got to wrangle over a sign...


sorry very petty

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Malc London says...
8:25am Sun 24 Feb 13

I'd say it shows the planning regulations are working fine.

I'm sure even the supporters would object if it was a neon sign with a 40ft arrow pointing to the door.

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marlowbucks says...
10:47am Sun 24 Feb 13

Something to be said for keeping our high streets under control. For instance have a look at this McDonalds in Quebec: https://maps.google.
co.uk/maps?hl=en&sig
=_tE&ie=UTF-8&q=mcdo
nald%27s+quebec+city
&fb=1&gl=uk&cid=0,0,
15132326047964554221
&ei=gu4pUbqSGcPN0QWQ
ioDICg&ved=0CAEQ5xgw
AA

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marlowbucks says...
10:49am Sun 24 Feb 13

p.s. Click on street view

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bigmark30 says...
8:52pm Thu 21 Mar 13

Yes it should have been checked out first, but hey these things happen I know these guys very well and they are decent very hard working people, Tattoos are very popular at the moment and surely a shop being filled and not just sitting there rotting and empty is the way forward for all towns in the area

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