CHICKEN takeaway bosses will be forced to take down their advertising board.

Pendle Council will take enforcement action against Freddy's Chicken and Pizza in Nelson because the takeaway's sign is deemed 'harmful' to the conservation area.

The sign, which is 10.95m by 0.95m in size, has a red and blue background with white lettering and a chicken logo which is lit up by LED's.

The three-storey Manchester Road building was a former Co-op store, dating back to the 1860s, and is located within Whitefield Conservation Area.

A conservation officer at Pendle Council said the building makes a significant contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area because of its historic significance and that the sign has a 'bulky' appearance which is not in keeping with the rest of the area.

Despite the officer's concerns, neighbours, the town council and Lancashire County Council's highways team had raised no objections to keeping the sign.

The policy and resources committee at Pendle Council met at Nelson Town Hall last Tuesday to discuss the case.

Some councillors said they had no problem with the sign which they felt was an improvement on what the building looked like years ago.

Nelson councillor and former council leader Mohammed Iqbal said: "(This issue) has been ongoing for over 12 months.

"Under the previous owners the building got diluted and we were left with a poor shop front.

"Now we have a shop front that the owners have invested a significant amount of money into. I do not believe this significantly affects the conservation area."

Cllr Nadeem Ahmed added: "Before this business took over the building it was derelict, an eye sore and horrible to look at. The owners have spent lots of money and done the building up, which is a big improvement on what it was before."

However other councillors said they were concerned that the retention of the sign would set a 'dangerous' precedent in future which could harm the legitimacy of a conservation area.

Cllr Mike Goulthorp said: "The rules are being ignored and we should discount this retrospective application."

Cllr Paul Foxey added: "We are working hard in areas of Pendle to make sure our conservation areas are protected and this could potentially impact on all conservation areas in a detrimental way."

Following the debate, which lasted 20 minutes, the majority of committee members voted in favour of enforcement action and the sign will be removed.