Our campaign gets a result!

Some time ago EBRA became concerned at the number of advertising boards (A boards) and tables and chairs that were littering our pavements and presenting an inconvenenience or a danger to the eldery and infirm, mothers wheeling buggies and pedestrains in general.

A trader should have a license to place such items on the public highway. It was clear that much of the clutter was not licensed and there was no enforcement of the law going on, much to the disadvantage of local residents.

EBRA is not against street furniture! It enlivens the street scene, advertising informs us all, and we look forward to sitting outside with a coffee at a table on the pavement when summer returns! But this must be balanced against the ability of all of us to pass without inconvenience or danger!

So what happened?!

After months of campaining, endless emails, letters and request for information and trying to use the Freedom of Information Act to get lists of licensed A Boards and tables and chairs on our pavements, Brighton & Hove Council finally agreed that they were not doing their job properly.

Two of our local councillors at the time, Paul Elgood and Roy Pennington presented the problem to the Environment Committee. The committee recognised there was a difficulty with "the placement and licensing of A-Boards" and they would take this up and report to the Council.

As a result of our campaign things improved a great deal but enforcement is still patchy, new street furnuture can appear at any time and we all need to vigilant. And we need to keep after the Council to do their job properly. The highways are for everyone, and the right to pass belongs to us all, the law says so, we have to ensure our rights are preserved.

Report an obstruction to the City Council

Be aware that the area in front of some buildngs is private land, and placing street furniture there is legitimate. Street furniture that is obstructing pedestrian traffic should be reported even if the trader has a current license on display. If there is no license on display then that should be reported.

Below is the full EBRA report from 2007.

2006 saw a big increase in the number of Advertising Boards and tables and chairs on the pavements of East Brunswick.

Many of our streets suffer from clutter, but Western Road is worst affected. Walking along it means stepping into the road to avoid people coming the other way. Imagine what it is like for a person in a wheelchair, or someone with impaired eyesight!

Something is clearly wrong, this is the public highway and someone should be making sure that it isn't obstructed on a regular basis. EBRA took up the challenge and set out to find out exactly who is responsible and why they have allowed our streets to get into this state. We tried to get some action!

Who is responsible?

The Highways Act 1980 states what you may or may not do with the public highway. In our area, enforcement is in the hands of the City Council and they have the power to license the placing of A boards and tables and chairs.

They also have a duty to protect the right of the public to freely use the highway. Do they do that? Not in our book!

Read the Law!

What we found out revealed a sad tale of confusion, so read on!

Is there a Council policy?

The City Council has a web page with a clear statement of their policy. All tables and chairs must be licensed, but A boards are only licensed in "Target Zones". These are the main shopping streets of the City centre. They say sections of Western Road are a Target Zone but unfortunately they don't say which sections! However, as they do issue licenses for shops and restaurants in the EBRA section of Western Road, we must be a target.

The Council web page also states that "generally speaking, except in pedestrian zones, a safe clear width of pavement for a wheelchair or double-buggy should be maintained at all times", and it makes some noises about public safety.

So why are our streets in such a mess?

Go to the Council's web site

It's not quite that simple.

The buildings along Western Road used to be private houses. Many of them had an area in front with steps down to a basement and these have since been filled in. Consequently, a metre or so of the pavement does in fact belong to the building. You can often see where this has happened by the appearance of the surface.

Traders or restaurants can put whatever they like on their own land, like the tables and chairs shown here. But the A boards are on the public highway!

Tables and chairs have a habit of creeping onto the public highway, extending out over the pavement. Where they do so our narrow pavements are seriously reduced in width.

Where did it all go wrong!

The Council's attempt to regulate this is half hearted and they have failed their duty to "protect and assert the rights of the public". Licensing of A boards only applies in part of the city. That does not meet the requirements of the Highways Act.

They do not ensure A boards or tables and chairs in our "Target Zone" are licensed, and their policy on obstruction is not observed.

Read what a disabled member wrote.

EBRA asked why!

We took this up with our Councillors and with Brighton & Hove, but found it hard to get clear answers. We sent numerous emails complaining of specific obstructions by licensed and unlicensed A boards and intrusion onto the public part of the pavement by tables and chairs. The answers we got show something is clearly wrong.

But finally we did get some answers!

Who does have a License?

We asked for a list of street licenses. We were astounded to find that there were only 22 licenses in Hove on the list, and only 7 for A boards, and none of them were in Western Road! There were several licenses for tables and chairs on the list, again none of them in Western Road.

We then asked for an up-to-date list, but met a stone wall. Bill Cowell, our Chair, asked for a list under the Freedom of Information Act.

Again, no luck, it would be too expensive to produce. We would have to pay for it!

What the Council said

Ian Denyer, Senior Highway Enforcement Officer at Brighton & Hove Council gave us this statement:

"I had thought I had made it clear earlier that the acknowledged shortfall in the enforcement regime was due to resourcing difficulties - or to be more accurate, the prioritising of tasks based upon actual danger to the public."

Let's be clear on this, EBRA does not blame the officials concerned, they obviously take the matter seriously, but the clear message is that the Council is not organised to do the job properly. In fact we understand Mr Denyer's department has only 2 officers to deal with 9,000 street licenses of all kinds, and who knows how many unlicensed obstructions!

Mr Denyer went on to say:

"In terms of priorities, income production takes second place to Public Safety (particularly as additional income does not accrue to our budget or result in additional resources here). Given the choice between deploying my staff to deal with abandoned/burnt-out vehicles & dangerous skips/scaffolding - or chasing "A" board income and what might well be considered "reasonable" obstructions in a Court of Law - the former will have first place during my watch."

Mr Denyer is right, public safety must come first if the resources are limited, but the Council have a stated duty and responsibility. And frankly, public safety is a concern when the less able among us have to deal with these obstructions.

In a later email, Ian Denyer said:

"Eventually we will be getting a computer system to help speed our licensing operations (we have been waiting 8 years so far) - and perhaps eventually we will get a period of internal stability so that time is not lost in regular moves and reorganisations.

Time will tell. Meanwhile we will be working to extend the system as swiftly as we can without over-extending. As you can imagine, every time we extend the licensing scheme we increase the amount of paperwork and day-to-day monitoring necessary to police the new area without being permitted to increase resources."

So there you have it, the Council are not able to deal with the problem, they don't have the resources. Despite our deep dissatisfaction with the state of things, we sincerely thank the Council's officers for doing their level best with the limited means at their disposal, and for being so frank with us.

Read what a disabled committee member wrote.

EBRA's Policy

We should all report every obstruction we see. There is a link to a report form on the Brighton & Hove web site we referred to above but you can use the direct link below.

Apart from complaining, what we must do is get our elected representatives to clarify the position, to ask why the Council ignores the duty placed on it in certain cases and does not follow the policy stated on its own web site.

The Council should:

• Extend the Target Areas to any area where A boards are used.
• Compel all businesses that place anything on the highway to buy a license.
• Make sure that all businesses are aware they cannot obstruct the highway.
• Patrol the streets regularly to ensure that obstructions are dealt with.
• Ensure the resources are available to do the job properly.

Disclaimer: Our photos show both licensed and unlicensed boards and furniture and show items on private land, but every photo shows an intrusion onto the public highway. But this was the situation at the time, and the situation has improved a great deal.

Return to the top of the page to report an infringement.