A ‘sign’ of the times

Businesses, Young Farmers Clubs, event organisers and charities be warned: the days of putting up unauthorised roadside signage to promote your events are over.

 

Powys County Council (PCC) has issued the warning following the increasingly popular practice of placing signs on local roadsides which promote, among other things, amateur dramatics, car boot sales, sports clubs and fireworks displays.

 

But not anymore, says the council.

 

“Any signs which do not conform to highway regulations are removed as they have the potential to cause a distraction for motorists,” a spokesperson for Powys County Council said. “We have a duty to remove any unauthorised signs if they are found during a routine highway inspection or if the council has received a complaint about them.”

 

The issue was highlighted by Guilsfield Community Council recently after the PCC’s highways department contacted them about increasing numbers of signs appearing at the Shade Oak Junction. The Community Council issued a warning to the village’s organisations through the local newsletter and it seems the clampdown is now county-wide.

 

One local club event organiser said: “I think a few that leave their signs up for weeks or sometimes months after the event is finished have ruined it for the rest of us.”