A-board ban: Micklegate spared "as a favour," says senior councillor - new reaction

Officers and senior councillors believe the pavement adverts have an unacceptable impact on blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and also wheelchair users, as well as having concerns about the visual impact of such 'street clutter.'

But it acknowledges that some traders will have concerns and objections to the new ‘Prohibition Zone,' which is set to be launched on January 1.

Cllr Ian Gillies, executive member for transport, said that if the trial is agreed by the executive next week and traders continue to put out A-boards after January 1, they will receive a visit from staff reminding them of the new policy.

If they continue putting out the boards, officials will confiscate them, and businesses will only be able to get them back on payment of a charge to cover the council's costs.

He said there would be a four month transition period this autumn, allowing plenty of time to notify and put into practice the new regulations.

He revealed that the only exception to the zone would be Micklegate, where businesses would need to apply for a license to the council to place an A-Board on the highway.

This was because the council did not wish to hinder a major initiative currently underway to revitalise business in the street, which was not on a bus route.

The official council report says Micklegate is exempt because of its larger pavement width. However when contacted again by The Press on Thursday morning, Cllr Gillies said: "It's more than that."

He said local councillor Jonny Hayes had put in a lot of work to reinvigorate the street, including with the forthcoming Soapbox Challenge. He said: "I t's not a bus route and has wider pavements and we have no record of incidents there. In order to not complicate the job people are doing there we left it out as a favour."

He added: "It's basically to help Jonny Hayes reinvigorate the street in association with traders and we were not going to complicate that at this stage."

He stressed that the whole policy, including Micklegate's proposed exemption, is subject to approval at next Thursday's executive meeting and said that it could also potentially be added into the list of banned streets at a later date.

He said work was being done to support a number of other streets, including Fossgate, and said meetings had been held to look at various ideas there."

On Wednesday, addressing the broader A-board issue, he had said: "This has been a long standing issue here in York so I welcome this trial. We need to balance the impact of A-Boards on the public with the livelihood of small businesses," he said.

"We also need to ensure support is provided to help find alternative methods of advertising and that all relevant bodies continue to be consulted throughout this trial.”

A council spokeswoman said a number of alternatives to using regular A-Boards would be suggested to businesses within the zone, including new city approved wall-mounted boards to help direct customers into snickelways or lanes.

"Brief audits undertaken in late 2012 found there to be around 150 A-Boards placed in York’s city centre. In some cases, up to eight A-Boards were seen placed in a consecutive line, often on narrow footstreets."

She said that by early 2013, when a scrutiny review started, the level of obstruction was becoming a growing concern and a very real problem for blind or partially sighted pedestrians or those in wheelchairs. The authority had spoken with representatives of the business and retail community, disability and mobility organisations and the Civic Trust.

"The council will carry out a full analysis of the year-long trial and produce a subsequent report which will be brought back to Executive after the trial in 2018."

TRADERS in York are divided over the A-board ban, said Frank Wood, a city centre jeweller who chairs York Retail Forum.

He said: “Some - particularly smaller businesses -believe they are an important business tool which attracts trade while others say they are an eyesore that clutter up the pavement.”

• Ol Holm, who runs Og Games in a little alleyway off Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate and Shambles, said the ban would have a very serious impact on his business. He said about 80 per cent of his passing trade found him through two A-boards, and he believed responsibly positioned boards should continue to be allowed.

• Diane Roworth, Chief Officer at the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society, which has been campaigning for the change, said: “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s brilliant - really good news.” She said there were an estimated 6,000 people in York who were blind or partially sighted, for whom A-boards presented ‘real difficulties.’

She said: “It can be quite unnerving and people have walked straight into them and hurt themselves. I have done that myself, and hurt my leg.”

• Sir Ron Cooke, vice chairman of the civic trust, who has long campaigned against street clutter in York, also welcomed the news. He said the trust supported the removal of A-boards from the city centre conservation area, believing it could positively enhance the streetscape.

Speaking personally, he said A-boards were already against the rules and traders using them were gaining an unfair advantage over those who didn’t, and the ban would ensure no one had this advantage any more.

He added that traders who used them also risked litigation.

• Andy McClintock, owner of Thir13en hair design and beauty in Feasegate: “It’s just a bit disappointing. It’s hard enough trying to run a business in York without this. We are under one years old and are upstairs, so the main way of letting people know we are here and attracting passing trade is our A-board outside.

“I think there should be a special dispensation for businesses upstairs which do not have a frontage on to the street - if they can do it elsewhere, in Micklegate, they can do it in this way as well. Another factor is that this street is wide and pedestrianised, so there is no problem of forcing pedestrians off the pavement - and there are cafes with tables and chairs on pavements in the city centre that cause far more of an obstruction than any A-board.”

• David Fairess of Clifton: “I think the proposed ban is a very good thing. I have an uncle called Richard and a friend called Chris who both use wheelchairs in York, and I know that A-boards can make it very difficult for them when they’re going along the pavement.

"I was walking in town one day and noticed how many huge A-boards there were. I went into one food business to mention the problem their boards would cause for disabled people, and they said: “They can go on the other side of the road.” I was disgusted. They had got a big menu in the window to advertise what they were selling. I just don’t think A Boards are needed any more in this day and age.”

• Rachael Maskell, York Central MP: “The council’s executive needs to be bold when they meet later this month. This decision will impact on the lives of blind and partially sighted people across the city as well as people in wheelchairs, parents with pushchairs and the elderly. It also impacts on visitors to the city. 

“The advertising boards clutter up our streets and they present a danger for many people who have to manoeuvre round them. People can trip over them and incur a nasty injury or else they can stumble in to the road. In this day and age there are numerous ways that businesses can use to advertise themselves. 

"Advertising boards are no longer necessary and they should be banned from the city centre as soon as possible. We should be looking after blind and partially sighted people, the elderly and the disabled and putting their needs first.”

• Fred Finney, 86, of Walmgate: “When I saw the headline in The Press, “A-Board adverts set to be banned’, I thought : ‘At last!” I have been wanting this for five to ten years. I have partial sight and a balance problem and they make it very difficult in streets like Fossgate. Some people find it easier and safer to walk along the street rather than use the pavement because of them.

I go up Fossgate every day and they impede my progress. In Fossgate, 50 per cent of shops don’t use them and are thriving but the other 50 per cent apparently think they will die if they can’t use one.”

• Steve Dyson, owner of Spring Espresso in Fossgate: “Banning A-boards is an easy win for the council but they should look at helping traders in York, by putting council-run signage up, and we can pay a contribution to have our names added.

"I can understand why they want to get rid of them because they are a problem for partially sighted people, but standardised boards in fixed positions address that.

"Fossgate was one of the worst flood-hit streets and we are trying to tell people it’s still operating. They could look at resurfacing Fossgate, which has been promised for some years now, to make it more attractive to visitors. It’s only the boards that bring people down here.

"There are reasons why A-boards are put out and the council should address the causes – that some streets do not get the footfall driven to them that they deserve. Letting Micklegate keep the boards sends a mixed message really.”