Estate agents board ban verdict expected in six weeks (From The Argus)

Estate agents board ban verdict expected in six weeks

4:40pm Wednesday 10th March 2010

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(7)

Estate agents face a six week wait to find out if their boards will be pulled down from sections of Brighton and Hove.

Brighton and Hove City Council announced proposals to widen the area in which “for sale” and “to let” signs would be banned last year.

But following an appeal from Brighton and Hove Estate Agents Association (BHEAA), which claims its members are being victimised, a Government inspector was called in to make the final decision.

The inspector, who was appointed by the Department of Communities and Local Government, held a hearing at Hove Town Hall yesterday.

After the inquiry, it was announced that a decision could take up to 30 working days.

Phil Graves, the president of the BHEAA, said: “It has been rumbling on for years now.

“There are peoples livelihoods at stake here, not only the local estate agents, but the board suppliers and signage erectors.

“We will await with interest the decision and trust common sense will prevail.”

He added that while the group supported a ban in some areas, the blanket proposal in all the city’s conservation areas was “inappropriate” and “not fully thought through”.

The local authority, which first introduced a ban in 2008, announced that the proposed area where boards would be banned would stretch from Hove Street and Sackville Road, Hove, to Kemp Town, Brighton.

If passed it will include the conservation areas of Brunswick Town, Cliftonville, The Drive, North Laine and Regency Square.

Geoffrey Theobald, the council’s cabinet member for planning, said this was due to “considerable public support”.

The proposed ban has been supported by residents’ associations.

Bill Cowell, of the East Brunswick Residents’ Association, said: “The problems are particularly rife on houses on multiple occupancy.

“We have been waiting a long time for this and we shall just have to wait and see what the final outcome is.”

A Government spokesman confirmed that the general election, which is expected to be called in April, will not interrupt the process.

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council declined to comment until a decision was made.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(7)