A retirement village near Warwick has lost its battle to put up a number of advertising hoardings after an appeal case was dismissed by a planning inspector.

Last July Warwick District Council refused permission for Austin Heath Retirement Village to install five signs and three flag poles to help advertise the new development, saying the adverts would adversely affect the appearance of the local area.

Phase three of the Gallagher Way site, which has 167 homes, including village centre apartments, assisted living, panorama and penthouses, was officially opened by acclaimed broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald in June 2022.

Inspired Village, which manages the site, launched an appeal last September but following a decision by planning inspector Tamsin Law this August, the facility will have to rethink the design of the adverts.

"The proposal would by reason of its location, height, size, and illumination, adversely affect the visual amenity of the area," her report said.

It added: "The proposed advertisement would result in a visually incongruous feature that would stand out from the soft landscaping in the area and would dominate the street scene. 

"This impact would be compounded by its prominent location and large illuminated lettering that would significantly draw the eye, further accentuating its visual prominence and harmful effect on the amenity of the area."

Originally submitted in March 2021, the application sought to build four illuminated signs, one non-illuminated sign and three five-metre high flag poles.

The adverts were all intended to be temporary - and would have been taken down by 2026.

The inspector also said that, when she visited the site, some adverts had already been installed.

Following the original refusal the care home did offer to install smaller poles, but it also said that the signs were an appropriate design.

The appeal statement said: "Overall, the siting, size, design and position of the signs do not harm the openness of the area and complement the existing vegetation which surrounds the timber hoarding and taken as a whole, the hoarding and signage does not have a harmful impact on the visual amenity of the area. 

"The lettering and pictures are scaled appropriately to suit the timber hoarding and to maximise legibility to approaching traffic."