Ad firm Clear Channel plans to put up digital billboard on Eastern Road in Portsmouth

It has submitted a planning application to install the equipment - and a 'green wall' aimed at increasing biodiversity - between the road and the Goals football centre, in place of the existing board.

A statement said the location meant the billboard 'would not constitute a potentially hazardous distraction' to drivers.

The 18sqm screen will display a rotation of adverts on equipment, the statement added, was a better use of the land.

‘Digital poster displays are a more efficient and sustainable media platform compared to their more traditional paper or vinyl counterparts whose content remains in situ until they are manually changed,’ it said. ‘They are recyclable, and their remote operation removes the need for frequent site visits and reliance on non-renewable resources.’

The green wall would be planted below the billboard screen and would be made up of a ‘vertical plantation of various wild flowering species’.

It said this would be ‘visually appealing’ and would also ‘enhance the natural capital of urban environments by attracting wildlife’.

The statement added that the position of the screen would not obscure sightlines for drivers nor ‘unduly distract highways users’.

The application will be considered by council planning officers in the coming weeks.