Surbiton traders plead for A-board amnesty (From Surrey Comet)

Surbiton traders plead for Kingston Council A-board amnesty

11:48am Thursday 26th February 2009 in Search By Kerry Grove

Traders in Surbiton are pleading with Kingston Council to have mercy during the recession and abandon plans to ban their advertising boards from pavements.

As the enforcement team worked its way along Victoria Road this week, small businesses said it was cruel to take away their main source of advertising at a time when trading conditions were so dire.

Several businesses refused to take down their boards in protest, but were warned they will be confiscated in the next 28 days.

Justin McIntyre, owner of Foodie sandwich shop, said his takings had dropped since the economic climate worsened.

He said: “If they wanted to enforce this, maybe they should have done it during the boom time and we wouldn’t have been so bothered.

"At the moment we are relying on every bit of advertising we can.”

The council banned all A-boards in January last year, in an attempt to declutter the pavements and make them safer.

Tolworth Broadway was chosen as the first area to send in inspectors in December last year and after seven days all A-boards had been removed by traders.

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