PLANS for ‘unnecessarily ugly’ LED advertising displays on the Royal Pier in Aberystwyth that attracted a slew of objections have been turned down by council planners because they are “unacceptable in a conservation area.”

Town councillors and scores of residents voiced their opposition to the plans which would have seen 5m wide LED signs placed on the front of the Grade II listed building and on the northern side of the pier, facing Marine Terrace and Constitution Hill.

Royal Pier owners said the new signs were “paramount for the business to remain sustainable,” but the plans were turned down this week by Ceredigion County Council officers.

Turning down the plans, a council officers’ report said: “The proposed signage is considered to negatively affect the immediate and surrounding vicinity, giving rise to insensitive and unsympathetic signage which is unacceptable within a conservation area.”

Aberystwyth Town councillors voiced concerns about any bright LED lights interfering with Aberystwyth’s famous starlings as well as being the “worst possible” type of siganage for the area.

Town councillors also said there was “strong community opposition” to the plans, with 13 objections received by planners from members of the public.

The planning report adds that “most of the issues raised concerned the unsympathetic nature of the signs with comments such as ‘awful’, ‘eye-sore’, ‘unnecessary ugliness’, and highlight that the proposed signs are not in-keeping with the area, and would detract from the historical architectural significance of the building.”

“Many of the objections highlighted that the light pollution from the LED signage may have an affect of the starling assemblages which are a well-known attraction at the promenade and the Pier building,” the report added.

The rejected signs are one part of ongoing work to modernise and update the Royal Pier, and owners said that improvements are needed “to attract users to this important Aberystwyth attraction.”