For any advertising sign to be erected, approval must be obtained from EMM. If you want to erect any advertising sign in the EMM area, an application accompanied by the  Advertising Signs  220.32 Kb should be submitted at the relevant Service Delivery Regional Office. Advice, as well as the policy, criteria and requirements on the specific sign that you want to erect, can be obtained from these Offices.  If any illegal signs are observed by the Outdoor Advertising Regional Office, the sign may be removed and you as the owner of the sign will be fined due to the offence.

The procedure for application to erect a sign, shall be as follows:

1. An application shall be launched at the Council at the relevant counter, accompanied by the required application fee and shall be signed by the owner of the proposed sign and by the owner of the land or building on which the sign is to be erected or displayed by his agent authorised in writing by such owner and shall be accompanied by the following documents with the following minimum criteria and requirements:
   
   
   1. a locality plan and block plan of the site on which the advertising sign or advertising structure is to be erected or displayed, drawn to a scale of not less than 1:500 showing every building on the site and the position with dimensions of the advertising sign or advertising structure in relation to the boundaries of the site;
   2. a drawing sufficient to enable the Council to consider the appearance of the advertising sign or advertising structure and all relevant construction detail, and elevations and sections to a scale of 1:100;
   3. where, in the opinion of the Council, a proposal cannot be adequately evaluated at a scale of 1:100, further details will be requested, and the scale of the drawings to be furnished shall be stipulated by the Council, but will not exceed a scale of 1:20;
   4. a drawing showing the sign or structure in relation to the area in which it will be erected;
   5. a full description of the materials and finishes to be employed shall be provided on the plan, elevations and sections;
   6. an artist's impression of the final product in its setting may be requested by the Council if the proposal is located in an area which is architecturally or environmentally sensitive;
   7. a registered, professional engineer shall take full written responsibility for all structural work contemplated by the applicant;
   8. a written motivation, briefly setting out the benefits of the outdoor advertising fixtures in environmental, social and economic terms is to accompany each application;
   9. written approval of the registered owner of the property (together with copies of the applicable Title Deeds, on request) is to be submitted together with the application;
   10. the applicant shall satisfy the Council that proposals for Category One signs have been commented upon by the Ward Councillor;
   11. the applicant shall satisfy the Council that cognisance has been taken of the relevant statutory provisions regarding the environmental impact of the proposed form of outdoor advertising;
2. Every such plan and drawing shall be clearly reproduced on cloth or other approved material in sheet form not less than A3 size (420mm x 297mm).
   
   The above technical criteria for submissions are essential in order to effectively evaluate the application in question on both environmental and technical grounds. It is also intended to expedite the assessment and approval of applications on the grounds that the provision of comprehensive information is an aid to effective decision-making.
   
   The criteria do not apply to applications for approval of posters, or any form of advertising described in Class 2 (4) - "Temporary advertisements" - where appropriate criteria for submission of applications can be determined administratively.

• If a sign is to be attached to or displayed on the façade of a building, the Council may require the submission of an additional drawing showing an elevation of the building in colour, the details and position of the proposed sign and the details and the position of every existing sign on the building drawn to a scale of not less than 1:100, or the Council may require a coloured or other photograph of the building with the details of the proposed sign superimposed on such photograph and drawn as nearly as is practicable to the same scale as that of the photograph.

• The Council may require the submission of additional drawings, calculations and other information and a certificate by an engineer registered in terms of the Professional Engineers Act, (Act 18 of 1968), in each case giving details to the Council’s satisfaction, to enable it to establish the adequacy of the proposed means of securing, fixing or supporting any sign, advertising structure or screen referred to in section 13, to resist all loads and forces to which the sign, structure or screen may be exposed and the sufficiency of the margin of safety against failure, in compliance with the provisions of regulation B1 of the National Building Regulations published under Government Gazette No. 9613,dated 1 March 1985.

• Every application, plan, drawing and other document submitted in terms of this section shall on approval be retained by the Council.

• Any sign for which approval has been granted shall be erected and displayed in accordance with any plan, drawing or other document approved by the Council and any condition imposed in terms of that subsection; the Council shall be notified once any approved sign has been erected.

• The Council shall register every sign or advertising structure approved by it and allocate to it a registration number which shall be displayed on the sign in a suitable, clearly visible position by the owner thereof and if necessary in the opinion of the Council, in another place and in a manner to the satisfaction of the Council.

• Every approval given by Council will be approved and given for a specific period.

• If the advertising sign will be visible from a provincial or national road, the approval shall be subject to the approval of the relevant road authority. Even if the approval of the Council was obtained, but the approval of the relevant road authority is not yet / not obtained, such a sign may not be erected, and will be deemed illegal if it is erected without both parties formal approval.

• All relevant documentation regarding the application and approval of a sign or advertising structure shall be retained by the owner of the property on which such sign or advertising structure is displayed and shall present such documentation to the Council upon request thereof.

• Each and every change in the advertisement face (content of the advertisement) shall be applied for at the Council, in order for Council to determine if it adheres to the criteria for amenity and decency and to the maximum number of “bits” of information allowable on the sign.

• Specific signs cannot be applied for, but will be put out on tender by the Council, on Council specifications, namely:
  
  
  • Large posters and advertisements on street furniture eg. pavement litter-bins, pole mounted bins and bus shelters,
  • Suburban ads eg. township name boards,
  • Street name advertisements eg. illuminated street name boards,
  • Semi-permanent pavement posters (on street light poles).

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