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B&M's 'garish' signs are now boring, say shoppers

Alex Popein Bedford
News imageAlex Pope/BBC A B&M store with grey stone on the front, with a white B&M sign with a red &. There are several people walking past the store. The window frames are painted blue. There is a lamp post to the right. Alex Pope/BBC
The store is on the corner of Midland Road and Harpur Street

Shoppers have said replacement signs on a B&M store that were previously described as "garish" now look boring.

Bedford Borough Council issued an enforcement notice and asked the retailer to remove its vinyl signs and box tray fascia signs from its town centre store.

B&M appealed the notice but it was upheld last year by a planning inspector and the store's large red signs have been taken down and replaced by smaller plainer ones.

Carmine Silvestre, from Bedford, said: "I prefer it the way it was before, it brought a bit of excitement to the town, a bit of colour."

Enforcement notices are issued when development or signage breaches planning control.

The planning inspector previously said the signs did not preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Bedford Conservation Area and the vinyl had "bleak and visually uninteresting appearance" and the fascia had a "garish, prominent and obtrusive appearance".

News imageGoogle The outside of B&M in Bedford, with a man walking past the store. Above the store front is a big bright B&M sign in blue and orange, and there are products stacked in the window.Google
B&M was told to replace its bright signage

Silvestre, who was in Bedford with his daughter Emma Silvestre, said the original artwork "made it look a bit funkier, now it's dull".

Emma said: "I thought it was shut, I didn't even notice it, before you noticed it.

"It's boring, I just don't think anything of it. I prefer the other B&M sign."

The building was used for a Marks and Spencer until March 2019, and B&M opened in late 2021.

News imageAlex Pope/BBC A man and a woman, standing outside a B&M store. The man has on a blue coat, with sunglasses on and grey hair. He is standing next to a woman with a black top on, cream cardigan, hair up in a bun, with glasses on and a bag across her. They are by a blue door, with graffiti on it and another sign.Alex Pope/BBC
Father and daughter Carmine and Emma Silvestre noticed the new signage while shopping in Bedford

Another shopper said the new sign was "a bit bland, it's not in your face. You have to look up to see it, I prefer the old one".

Celia, who did not give her surname, said she was happy with the changes, adding: "It's better now, it's not so glary. It looked like it was deserted before."

A B&M spokesperson said: "B&M have undertaken works to replace specific elements of former signage at the Bedford town centre store in line with an approved advertisement scheme and are working constructively with the council to address any final detail."

Bedford Borough Council has been approached for comment.

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