A Newport pet shop has been given four months to remove a large purple advertising sign from its frontage on Melbourne Road.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) sided with Hobsons Bay council, which took action to have the sign removed.
The tribunal heard the 15 square-metre sign was erected in 2013 without a permit.
The pet store is in a small shopping strip, which has a number of period shops dating from 1880 to 1940.
Any business or promotional sign of more than eight square metres needs a council permit, as does any new sign on a shop that is covered by a heritage overlay.
VCAT senior member Philip Martin gave the shopkeepers four months to remove the sign.
“This will give them real time to give priority to pursuing some alternative valid form of signage on the front of their shop, including, if necessary, seeking a fresh planning permit from council,” he stated in his ruling.
“I would hope, with a spirit of co-operation between the parties, that this matter will not need to return to the tribunal.”
Signs in heritage areas should respect the period and style of the building, according to the Hobsons Bay advertising signs guidelines.
The council guidelines also encourage materials, fonts and paint colours from the period.
Signs that dominate a building or obscure architectural features are discouraged.
