Coffee pot building defibrillator rejected as 'visually incongruous'

Plan to install a defibrillator and cabinet on a listed building with a giant coffee pot on its walls have been turned down as it "would introduce prominent and visually incongruous features".

Nationwide Building Society wanted to put the unit and a bleed kit on the front of its branch at Guildhall Square in Carmarthen, as part of a UK-wide campaign.

But Carmarthenshire council planners rejected the application, saying it would have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the town's centre's conservation area.

Defibrillators which can increase the chances of survival if used within minutes of a cardiac arrest are being made available in more public places.

The building society said installing such cabinets on the right front and side would keep them "positioned away from views of the Guildhall and other notable buildings on the square".

It said the unit's life-saving credentials "outweighs any harm to the appearance of the conservation area".

The branch building, which dates from 1800, has been given protected status due to special architectural or historic interest with Flemish bond brickwork, bow windows and a bow fronted shop front.

A council planning report rejected the application, suggesting that it would "obscure and disrupt important architectural detailing".

The decision has been branded "disappointing" by Melanie James, a trustee of charity Heartbeat Trust UK and a former High Sheriff of West Glamorgan who has led the rollout of hundreds of bleed kits in south Wales, with 70 in Carmarthenshire.

"The trauma boxes need to be prominent so that they have maximum impact and in areas of good footfall," she said.