'We'll sell our house if Amazon signs are lit up'

Sarah Horrobin and her son, Christian, are pleased plans to install illuminated signs at a new Amazon warehouse have been rejected

Residents are celebrating after plans for a number of illuminated signs at a new Amazon warehouse have been rejected.

An application to display an illuminated totem sign at the main entrance of the facility at Melton West Business Park, near North Ferriby in East Yorkshire, along with additional illuminated signs around the building, was turned down by planners at East Riding of Yorkshire Council on Tuesday.

Sarah Horrobin, who lives on Plantation Drive which backs on to the site, is relieved at the decision to reject the signs, saying she would have moved house had they been granted.

Amazon did not want to comment when approached.

Light pollution and the impact on local residents were among the reasons cited in the decision

Ms Horrobin said: "When I bought the house I fell in love with the garden.

"I bought the house really hoping, believing it [Amazon warehouse plan] would never get passed.

"I'm really glad they have turned it down. Why do you need to have big massive signs, isn't the building big enough?

"If the signs went ahead, we'd move."

Her son, Christian Horrobin-Laverick, 20, added: "There's so much wildlife coming out of that woodland area and around it. I don't see the point of having these big signs there."

Plans for the building were approved in December 2021, despite more than 1,300 objections.

Objections to the latest proposal included light pollution and the impact on local residents.

Councillor Paul Hopton told the meeting there were no objections to the signs, just them being lit up.

He said any drivers "looking for this place" needed to consider a new career if they were unable to find it without illuminated signage.

"It has been mentioned that there are other Amazon locations that are not illuminated - I don't know why they want to illuminate this one," he added.

Councillor Denis Healy also questioned the need for the signs, saying there was no business case for it.

"Everyone is a customer pretty much," he added.

Councillor Richard Meredith pointed out that the warehouse was on an industrial site close to the A63.

"I can see why Amazon don't think it is a big deal," he said.

However, he said the horse had "long-bolted" with regard to the original application to build the facility.

"We can't change the site, we are looking at a couple of lights on it," he added.

Councillors rejected the proposals on the grounds of unnecessary light pollution to the area, as well as the impact on neighbouring residents.

Nearby resident Dan Bond feels there is no need to have illuminated signs on the Amazon warehouse

Dan Bond, 41, who has lived on Plantation Drive for three years, said: "There is no need to have bright illuminated signs, we all know it's an Amazon, there's no hiding the fact it's an Amazon, you don't have to have a big lit-up sign saying Amazon for people to know it's there.

"It's just a vanity thing."

Maureen, who has lived on Corby Park, which is also close to the site, for 40 years, fears that although it is a small win for the residents now, it may not be the end of it.

"There was a lot of dispute over it at the time a few years back and they still went ahead because we couldn't win," she said.

"You can see it through the trees, we have the lights each night as we look out of our kitchen straight through the woods. All the lights are on.

"They will keep trying, they won't give in."

Earlier this year, Amazon announced that up to 2,000 jobs were expected to be created at the facility.

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