Dear Campbell
Thank you for your request for information regarding consented billboards.
I have liaised with our Resource Consenting team in relation to your request. Please see attached for a list of the consented sites for Billboards.
Unfortunately due to system restrictions, the list data won’t answer all of your questions but can provide some consent information to you, such as owner name, consent type/subtype, status, outcome, etc. What we are readily able to provide has been bullet pointed below for ease of reference.
Data fields included
• Legacy (area)
• TransactionID
• ApplNr
• Type Description
• SubType
• Status
• ReceiveDate
• IssuedCombined
• Outcome
• Owner Full Name
• Application Description
• Property Address
The list should also include detail on the site landowner or owners (from BI – but only the name).
Your below questions have not been included due to limited resources/data not available within Council and manual collation throughout hundreds/thousands of consents. As such, the below questions have been refused under Section 17(f) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act - that the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.
3. Copies of the consents issued for active sites
4. Details of any pending requests for amendments to existing consents that would enable a static site to be converted to a electronic or changeable message installation
The below question if you are requesting about change of ownerships, is not held in Auckland Councils database and as such has been refused under Section 17(g) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act - that the information requested is not held by the local authority.
5. Details and numbers of any transfers of consent(s) to a new operator or landowner for the 24 month period preceding the 10/01/2022 (not clear what is required – change of ownership not in our database)
Should you believe Auckland Council has not responded appropriately to your request, you have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA, to apply to the Ombudsman to seek an investigation and review of the decision.
If you have any further queries please contact me on 09 301 0101 quoting Official Information Request No. 8140009791.
Kind Regards,
Grace Ray
Senior Privacy & Official Information Business Partner
From: Campbell Larsen <
[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 10 January 2022 4:45 pm
To: Official Information <
[email address]>
Cc: Councillor Pippa Coom <
[email address]>
Subject: LGOIMA request
To: Auckland Council Official Information
Preamble
For the purpose of assisting Auckland Council in the discharge of its duty under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 in the event that there is any unintended possible misinterpretation of terms in the request that may preclude the provision of fulsome and accurate data In the response.
Context
Billboard identifiers are a requirement placed upon operators. They assist Council officers in carrying out their regulatory functions and also assist members of the public in addressing any complaints to Council or the Advertising Standards Authority.
The advent of new digital technology has extended also into operator identifier and logo signage. This has occurred at a time when Billboard operators are transitioning fluidly across sites with a frequency that can only be described as remarkable. It is unclear from these operator ID’s who owns the site(s).
Increasingly it has become difficult to accurately describe a site due to operator changes and potentially also site or installation technology equipment ownership changes.
As complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), and to a lesser degree to also to Council, need to be able to reference operator ID and also include details such as date, time and location there needs to be a database created and held by Council. This needs to be made accessible to the public so that people may accurately inform the ASA and the Council of any breaches of standards or consent conditions.
The use of themed logos/ operator ID’s (Americas Cup, ANZAC poppy, Christmas Santa hat, Movember moustache) should be discouraged as they further reduce the likelihood that the operator ID will be clearly understood and remain useful for reporting purposes.
The fluidity of Billboard operators and potentially also site ownership in the Auckland Out Of Home (OOH) advertising sector is without precedent. It is remarkable due to the high profile nature of the sites, the shifting sands of control and ownership that churn behind the bright and flashing facades and due to the fact despite these features, the sector receives very little critical attention from the media. This lack of scrutiny is almost certainly due to the involvement of media organisations in the OOH sector.
Accordingly this is to request under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987:
A list of the consented sites across Auckland for:
1. Billboards
2. Electronic Billboards
The list is to also detail if the consent was supported or opposed by (a) the Council (b) Auckland Transport, and (c) NZTA. The list should also include detail on the site landowner or owners.
3. Copies of the consents issued for active sites
4. Details of any pending requests for amendments to existing consents that would enable a static site to be converted to a electronic or changeable message installation
5. Details and numbers of any transfers of consent(s) to a new operator or landowner for the 24 month period preceding the 10/01/2022
Kind regards,
Campbell Larsen
021 582 304
