Dozens of temporary road signs to be removed following review of street clutter

More than 100 redundant or unlicensed temporary road signs are set to be removed from Shropshire’s streets this month following a review of ‘street clutter’ by Shropshire Council.

It follows the council’s adoption of a revised policy for ‘temporary signage’, which incorporates the findings and recommendations of the council’s economy and environment scrutiny committee.

The majority of identified signs are directional signs that have been left behind by contractors working on behalf of housing developers and have been in place longer than permitted or required.

An example of one of the housing development signs

Under the review, sign owners are being contacted to remove redundant/unlicensed signage where applicable.

The work done so far has identified a total of 65 redundant/unlicensed signs for removal from street furniture in parts of central and northwest Shropshire – with further assessment of other areas ongoing.

In addition applications to extend the period of a further 45 signs already in place have been refused, due to these signs having been in place for a year already – with the applicants also told to remove these signs.

Joyce Barrow, chairman of the economy and environment n scrutiny committee, said:

“Anyone wanting to advertise, using temporary signage, a new housing development or an event – for example – must apply for consent to do so and must agree to abide by the conditions and regulations, including ensuring that unwanted or unlicensed signage is removed. It had become clear to us that this wasn’t always happening, and why we were keen to review and update the temporary signage policy.

“This revised policy will help to ensure that any such signs are removed, helping to keep our streets clear of signs that are unnecessary or not needed. I’m delighted that more than 100 signs will soon be taken away.”

People can apply to place temporary signage on the highway by completing the online application form on the Shropshire Council website.

Under the revised policy no more than three directional signs are permitted per housing development in order to simplify the process and mitigate any proliferation of signage.