let and managed by signs - allowed?

poppysarah

Ask your local councillors to take action if your streets are full of horrid signs like this.

planning_officer

princeofpounds wrote: »

TS do actually audit EA signage sometimes

Yes, just looked at your link - never heard of Trading Stds investigating it before, as it would be far slower for them to deal with than under the planning legislation (which they're not responsible for enforcing).

princeofpounds wrote: »

relevant legislation apparently is:
Town & Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992

Nope - that legislation no longer exists. It was replaced in 2007 by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007! The other link you gave however was a link to an explanatory booklet about the 2007 Regs!

In any event, that legislation is the jurisdiction of the planning dept, not Trading Stds - if Trading Stds investigate, it's under the Trades Descriptions Act. I would say it would take much longer for them to show this, whereas if the planning dept took action, they can do so immediately after 14 days following the sale of a property - as it's then a criminal offence to leave the sign in situ.

ninky_2

it's been taken down now anyway. hooray!

princeofpounds

Planning Officer, I have to say I'd always wondered how it works with Trading Standards (I agree with you they are not the enforcing authority), but as well as the example I linked to they did it near me once as well. I can only guess that investigating rather than enforcing is in their remit somewhere.

planning_officer

True - maybe they have more manpower and can investigate more quickly than some planning departments are able to!

lynzpower

OUt of interest, what is the score with these boards advertising school fetes and the like. I notice estate agents seem to be sponsoring these boards ( ie it looks like a for sale board but look closely and its a school fete, clearly advertising the EA)

Do you need planning consent for these, I see whole streets of them sometimes?

planning_officer

lynzpower wrote: »

OUt of interest, what is the score with these boards advertising school fetes and the like. I notice estate agents seem to be sponsoring these boards ( ie it looks like a for sale board but look closely and its a school fete, clearly advertising the EA)

Do you need planning consent for these, I see whole streets of them sometimes?

Charitable or educational signs benefit from a deemed consent under the Advertising Regs 2007, but subject to various criteria. They must not exceed 0.6 sqm in area, they cannot be illuminated, they cannot exceed 4.6m in height (or lower in certain areas of special control) and they cannot be displayed earlier than 28 days before the event/activity takes place, or more than 14 days after the event has finished.

If the sign is also advertising the estate agency, I would say it goes beyond a mere charitable or educational sign and needs consent. Although it may just say that the event is sponsored by the estate agency, rather than directly advertising it, in which case the distinction may be less clear-cut. I doubt any authority would take action against such signs, provided they complied with the criteria set out above.