PLANS for illuminated signs outside the new Marks and Spencer store in Aberystwyth have been approved after a ‘Foodhall’ sign was withdrawn by the company after complaints by councillors that it wasn’t bilingual.

Plans for the other signs at the Mill Street store have now been passed, despite objections that the lights would disturb nearby residents.

M&S withdrew the M&S Foodhall sign from the application after planning members attempted to add a condition that it, too, must be translated into Welsh, despite it being one of the company’s brands.

Talks between the company and the council over the sign are ongoing, with a separate application for the Foodhall sign set to be made before the store opens next spring.

Four of the signs will be mounted on the outside of the building and one will be free-standing next to the car park entrance.

Several of the signs will be “internally illuminated”, with some as large as 1.5 metres high.

Aberystwyth Town Council was among those who raised objections to the lights, with a nearby resident also saying the lights would disturb their house.

Cllr Mark Strong called for a site inspection for councillors, but was informed that there was nothing to see as the signs are not yet up. He said it was a “cumulative effect” with the Tesco lights that causes the problem.

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