WE should start by declaring an interest. The Press, like many local newspapers, benefits from newsagents promoting our stories on bill boards often placed on the pavement.

Such bills are a great way of letting readers know what the main stories in that day's newspaper are. Research has shown that readers genuinely appreciate this - and that bill boards help with newspaper sales.

At a time of great change in the newspaper industry, it is probably no exaggeration to say that they actually help newspapers like The Press to survive.

But the use of A-Boards - including bill boards - is divisive. Businesses say they are a vital way of promoting themselves. Organisations representing disabled people, however, argue that they are a menace. There is no doubt that, on narrow, crowded streets, they can be an obstruction.

The issue is now more topical than ever in York because the city council is looking at ways to reduce the use of A-boards. Among the ideas it is considering are banning them altogether - or charging businesses a licence fee to use them.

We fully understand the concerns raised by organisations such as the RNIB, and we have always encouraged a reasonable approach to the use of A-boards - ie, only in streets where there is plenty of room and they won't block the pavement.

Our preferred option would be for the council to limit their use to such streets, rather than banning them outright.

As to charging businesses to use them: that would be little more than a cynical money-making exercise. How would a board be less of an obstruction simply because a business had had to pay to use it?