Last year, The Hague was unpleasantly surprised by the placement of MUPI’s, eye catching billboards with moving images. JCDecaux had received permission through the municipal advertising policy without the municipal council or other parties being aware of this. Three incongruous MUPI’s were placed in the Protected City Site of Statenkwartier. BAS has supported neighboring residents with the filing of objections. A minor success is the MUPI on the corner of Frederik Hendriklaan and Prins Mauritslaan being declared misplaced by the Complaints Committee. However, the Municipality has ignored its advice. The environmental permit has not been withdrawn. Our next step is to support the residents involved in going to the administrative court.
Update June 19th, 2020
Some of residents who filed an objection have indicated that they want to go to the administrative court. So far so good. But unfortunately our lawyer had to advise the residents involved against filing this appeal. The Municipality based her decision partly on an earlier advice of the municipal Monuments and Building Aesthetics Committee. A decisive argument for allowing the MUPI regards the type of area of the location. Less visual disturbance is permitted in residential areas than there is in shopping areas. But now it appears that this part of the Prins Mauritslaan is labeled a shopping area in an old policy document, even though everybody experiences it as a residential area. A pity! Actions to keep out the MUPI’s by concerned residents living in the other protected city sites in The Hague have not led to the desired results either.
