Prevent the Glebe Silo Billboard Renewal

The Glebe Silo Billboard is scheduled to have its 10-year-lease renewed; if successful this means it will stay until at least 2031. We cannot let this eyesore remain for another 10 years to continue to ruin the Glebe foreshore.

The application also requests extension of the illumination from the current 11pm to 1am. Late night lighting negatively impacts sleeping patterns; contributes to light pollution; impacts wildlife; and impedes the view of the night sky.

This website will set out what you can do to help stop this lease extension, in order to remove this billboard.

How to help

The two most important things to do is to sign the e-Petition against the continued lease of the billboards, which will be delivered to the State government; and to personally object to the billboard's Development Application (DA) via the NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment's website.

Signing the e-Petition

To sign the e-Petition, please click here, and follow the prompts.

The petition closes November 3rd.

Development Application Objection

Development applications have a public exhibition period. The period for this billboard runs until the 27th of October. Applications must be submitted before this date.

To submit an application, visit the DA exhibition website and fill out the form under the section titled "Make a submission". Make sure to select the option "I object to it"!

To fill out the required text input called "Submission", you'll need to add some text describing your opposition. To make this easier to fill, we've added a form to automatically generate content for this field, depending on which issues you'd like to include in your response.

Full Name

Ruins the landscape

Environmental impact

Misuse of a heritage-listed site

Intrusive lighting

Fact List

• The billboard is enormous, it measures 1171m² in size - that's over a quarter acre in advertising space!
• The illumination currently runs from dusk (somewhere around 5-7pm, depending on season) until 11pm. The current DA requests to extend the operating hours to 1am - which corresponds to up to 50% longer running duration.
• There are approximately 50 strongly-luminous lights, each consuming around 120 Watts. Their operation is estimated to contribute more than 11 tonnes of CO₂, annually - a needless toll on the environment for such an eyesore.
• The quarter-acre in advertising space changes monthly, which is estimated to generate 7 tonnes of waste of PVC - the plastic material used for the banner itself.
• The billboard was initially constructed in the 1990s, and remains a scar on the heritage listed Glebe Silos ever since - despite it only being erected as part of the Sydney Olympics bid.
• The parent company responsible for the billboard, Ooh Media, is worth over a billion dollars.
• The billboard is reportedly seen over two million times a month by commuters. However, it is visible from nearly all positions of the Glebe foreshore walk, in addition to the Pyrmont coast-line.
• Not only visible outside, it's also directly visible to thousands of occupants of households around the area.
• Reportedly, the billboard operators charge a quarter-million dollars a month to companies wishing to lease the space - an extortionate amount to the detriment of the citizens in the area.
• An estimated 750,000 Lumens are output by the lighting, drastically brighter than surrounding lights. This lighting contributes to excessive light-pollution in the area, impacting the biological rhythms of birds; disrupt the sleeping patterns of humans, inciting what is known as 'mini jetlag'; and obliterates insect populations, fundamentally disrupting the ecosystem's stability.

Other ways to help

There are many additional ways to help:

• Tell your friends! Encourage them to sign the e-Petition and object to the Development Application.
• Sign up for the mailing list.
• Volunteer and directly help extend the reach of this campaign.

Sign up for the mailing list

We'd love for you to join our mailing list! This is the best way to keep up-to-date with the status of the campaign.

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Volunteering

If you'd like to support the cause, please contact glebesilobillboard@gmail.com. We'd love the support!