Sunderland 'eyesore' dog bath mural permitted to stay

The mural was called an "eyesore" by one neighbour

A dog groomer has been granted permission to keep a mural of a dog in a bath on a wall outside her salon.

Marcia Dillon thought the picture, on Durham Road, Sunderland, "brightens up the place" but had been told to get planning permission or paint it over.

A complaint to the council said it was an "eyesore" and an advert, although it did not feature the salon's name.

After consultation Sunderland Council decided there was "no justifiable reasons" to refuse permission.

Ms Dillon said she was "over the moon".

"I still get lots of comments on it [the mural] on a weekly basis when I'm out shopping, so it's positive," she said.

Ms Dillon thought the mural did not need permission because it does not feature the name of the salon

Ms Dillon commissioned artist Frank Styles to paint 'Frankie' the dog on the wall next to her Hair of the Dog salon to raise people's spirits during the Summer coronavirus lockdown, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The council received one objection from a neighbour who called the painting "advertising on a massive scale" and an "eyesore for any residents looking out on to it".

"It brings down the entire area," the complainant said.

Town and Country Planning Regulations require permission for designs resembling adverts which are more than 0.75 metres (2.4ft) high.

The painting is higher than the regulation height.

Sunderland City Council previously said it considered the painting to be an advert, because it depicts one of the services offered by the salon.

But following a consultation, planners concluded the advert was "modest in terms of colour and image and it [was] not considered possible to demonstrate visual harm whereby a refusal of permission would be warranted".

The paw prints painted on the nearby utility box were outside the council's scope, it said.