External Banners and Notice Boards

+Diocese of Sheffield DAC

External Banners and Notice Boards

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Purpose

• What is the purpose of your notice board or boards? Are they for:
• Using a logo or short slogan to advertise who you are and what as a parish church you stand for.
• To display fixed information such as clergy names, services and times and contact details
• To set out opening times or explain how to gain entry? You might be surprised how difficult it is to find the way into some churches, even when they are unlocked.
• To declareit is a Church of England Parish Church in the Diocese of Sheffield
• Toprovidetemporary information about special services and events

Get the basics right

This will be the first opportunity to make a connection with a visitor to your church so it is important that you get this right. Before you plan what it should say consider whether it is in the right place. If you’re thinking about getting a new board does it have to go where the old one was?

There are many different kinds of signs available and yours may be new or a sign that you have had for years that needs some attention. It might be a ‘top of the range’ model or a very simple board. No matter what it is like it needs to be in good order. No peeling paint or worn off varnish. Ask yourself what the picture below says about the church it represents.

Most importantly, be welcoming andshow that your church is alive and open throughout the week and not just Sundays. If you want to include information about regular services think carefully about your audience. How many people will understand words such as ‘evensong’ or ‘communion’? How many will bother to work out which is the first or second Sunday of the month?

• Make sure it is easy to read from a reasonable distance – not too high from the ground - and that the lettering is not too small.
• Don’t be tempted to put too much specific information on it, like names and telephone numbers that could date easily – take into account the fact that your vicar may change and the churchwardens may retire, so think longer-term.
• It should be easy to get to and access – so not behind an encroaching holly bush or fast growing hedge, or on a slope.
• If it is a glass or Perspex lockable type make sure that it is weatherproof. If your church is in an area frequented by vandals take this into account when planning for a new sign.
• If you have space to display posters or flyers make sure they always look fresh and that they are changed frequently to maintain a level of interest.
• Faded, curling, out of date information gives a very poor impression.
• Less is definitely more.Obviously, the bigger the board the more information you can include, but if it is small keep the information to a minimum.
• If you’re open to visitors say so - even if it’s only for a few hours a day. Use the board to display and explain the details and contact information for those who may want access out of hours or need more specific information about your church’s story. If your board is small you may want to signpost them to your porch or inside the church itself.
• Consider reserving space on a specific board closeto the doorto welcome new people and visitors. Make sure you don’t lump this kind of information in with the flower rota or the PCC minutes.

Fixed or movable notices

• You need to decide whether the notices and other information on the board are to be fixed or movable. You may need some of each type.
• To help decide you should ascertain whether your notices would be accommodated by one multi-purpose notice board design, or whether it would be better to have two or even three boards with different designs and purposes Bear in mind it is important not to over-clutter or appear disorganised.
• A board for posters or moveable lettering may need a lockable casement front, though these need to be carefully chosen to ensure they are robust and appropriate to their environment.
• (d) Posters and other notices should be designed with no less care than the notice board itself. Each type of notice should be carefully sited in relation to its purpose, and should be designed in a style that relates one to another. They should be worthy of each other and of you, even though a faculty may not be needed for each, and every individual notice. They are what will be seen and by what you will be judged.

Position and context

Of crucial importance is the location of each board and how it will be seen in its context. A notice board in the centre of Sheffield or Doncaster may need to be quite different from one in Adlingfleet, Bradfieldor Campsall. Who will be your main audience? Will they stop to read a detailed notice board or just see headers? Will they be able to find out more on your website? Will the notice board include a QR marker? Consider the position of your notice boards in relation to the church building and the routes followed by traffic and by passers-by.

• Will they be readily seen without dominating the streetscape or distracting drivers?
• A notice board to be seen from a car or a bus will not be the same as one before which the pedestrian may thoughtfully pause.
• The style should be appropriate to your church building and its context and also to the people you want to attract

Appearance

• Your notice board carries information that is important to the church and parish. A good quality notice-board will last a long time and stand out. Avoid off-the-peg solutions especially in conservation areas or if the church is listed.
• Bear in mind the architectural style which your notice boards should follow, the materials from which they are made, its overall appearance and what is says about your church to those you want to read its contents.
• Each board should be carefully designed, with a drawing by your architect, and its construction and materials thoroughly considered so that it is robust, waterproof and durable. The drawing should ideally illustrate a cross-section through the board and its frame.
• The style of lettering should also be carefully chosen and illustrated, as well as their colours and those of the surface of the board itself (to contrast with the lettering) and the frame. The lettering should in any event be carefully set out on the drawing before the sign writer starts work. Each board should be designed as a harmonious whole.
• Do not neglect the grammar, syntax and punctuation of the wording on the notice board. Avoid unintended humour, or offering opportunities for the graffiti artist.

Particular care must be taken when signs are displayed on or close to listed buildings so that they do not detract from the character and appearance of the building. Even signs that are normally permitted within the advertisement regulations may require separate listed building consent if they are attached to listed buildings.

Logos, colours, fonts

Keep text to a minimum and ensure the selected font is legible to the partially sighted. For advice on colours, logos and fonts, see the Diocesan branding Guidelines and Church of England’s Design Guidelines.Noticeboards that reflect the ethos and liturgical style of the individual church are encouraged but it is a requirement that ALL noticeboards carry the wording ‘Diocese of Sheffield’ and ‘Church Of England’ together with the logo appropriately scaled:

Changing role of Noticeboards

• In a digital age, the traditional information-giving format of notice boards need to be re-considered
• New people will usually look you up on the internet to find out what’s on offer and the times of services
• Websites and social media which can be easily updated are now widely used sources of information
• Those who don’t use computers will probably already know the times of the services though should not be excluded
• Terms such as ‘Communion’ or ‘Eucharist’ are no longer routinely understood and people will be put-off by what they do not understand
• Notice boards are increasingly being used as statements of welcome and liturgical style rather than sources of information
• Increasingly, the audience for notice boards is the passing car-driver or passenger who needs to see an easily memorable logo/website than someone stopping to read it as they walk past
• Notice boards that are too wordy don’t get read – see

Secular planning permission

Remember a new or replacement sign will require a faculty. Depending on its size and location, permission from your local planning authority may be required AS WELL as a faculty.

You may need to apply for advertisement consent to display an advertisement bigger than 0.3 square metres (or any size if illuminated) on the front of, or outside, your property (be it a house or business premises).

Therefore, you are unlikely to need consent for a small sign with your house/building name or number on it, or even a sign saying 'Beware of the dog'.

Temporary notices up to 0.6 square metres relating to local events, such as street parties and concerts, may also be displayed for a short period. There are different rules for estate agents' boards, but, in general, these should not be bigger than 0.5 square metres.

ALL notices must:

• be kept clean and tidy
• be kept in a safe condition
• have the permission of the owner of the site on which they are displayed(this includes the Highway Authority if the sign is to be placed on highway land)
• not obscure, or hinder the interpretation of, official road, rail, waterway or aircraft signs, or otherwise make hazardous the use of these types of transport
• be removed should a localplanning authority consider it unsuitable in any way

Further information on local government planning permissions can be found on the Local Government Guide for Outdoor Signs

Summary

• Be brief
• Be welcoming
• Think about colours, layout, font size and style
• Think about the surrounding environment
• Consider your audience
• Include the Church of England logo
• Include ‘Diocese of Sheffield’
• Avoid clutter and unnecessary detail
• Avoid Anglican speak and terms people will not understand
• Avoidmixingdifferent stylesoffontanditalics

Temporary Signs and Banners

A faculty will be required for a new notice board and for the refurbishment of an existing notice board. Like for like repainting or adding a new Vicar's name or new contact details so not require a faculty. All external noticeboards, banners and other forms of advertising your church and activities will require a faculty if they are to be permanent or semi-permanent fixtures. In addition, they may require permission from your local planning authority. Banners for temporary events such as a Christmas fair, Alpha Course or welcome to new students, do not require a faculty providing that:

Schedule 3 Part 1D Classes of Advertisement, for which Deemed Consent is Granted of the Advertisement Regulations, allows an advertisement announcing any local event of a religious, educational, cultural, political, social or recreational character or relating to any temporary matter in connection with any event or local activity to be erected without advertisements consent but only if it meets the following criteria:

• No advertisement may exceed 0.6 square metres
• No advert may be displayed earlier than 28 days before the first day on which the activity or event is due to take place;
• It must be removed within 14 days of the end of the event.
• No part may be above 4.6 metres above ground level.
• NB ‘enclosed land’ does not refer to the curtilage of a church but to being inside a shopping centre or inside a railway station or bus station such that an advertisement is not visible at all from the road.

What is a Banner?

Banners are defined byThe Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisement) (England) Regulations 2007, which state that:

Banners are temporary devices designed to announce a specific event or activity that in itself is temporary in nature and for which inclusion on a permanent notice board is not appropriate. Whether within or outside church buildings, a banner that is intended to be more permanent in nature will require a faculty. Consideration should also be given to local planning authority regulations, which strictly control the use of banners, especially on listed buildings

It is often helpful to discuss your proposal with your local authority before you send in your application – this is known as pre-application advice. Your local authority will normally have details of how to go about this on its website.

Further information can be found in the booklet, Outdoor advertisements and signs, a guide for advertisers,