BUSINESS owners and residents in villages throughout the Esk Valley packed a meeting at Danby Moors Centre to discuss a ban on advertising and display signs in the area with the North York Moors National Park chief planning officer Val Dilcock.
The problems arose some weeks ago after a resident in Lealholm complained about an advertising board that had been placed close to their home. They claimed that it caused confusion about which property it related to.
Following the meeting, Mrs Dil
cock told the Whitby Gazette that legislation about signs was very complex but there were a lot of properties in the area with more signs on display than they should have.
Before the national park took any action about a sign they would discuss it with the local parish council. She said: “We would refer any such issue to the parish council in the area and see if it could be resolved that way.
“But we don’t get complaints about signs very often and dealing with any problems over them would not be one of our top priorities.”
She would also look at getting funding, possibly Euro cash, for providing composite signs in village car parks. The signs would provide information about the area including local attractions and could also carry information about businesses.
The meeting was organised and chaired by Coun Tim Lawn who represents the Esk Valley area on the North York Moors National Park committee. He said: “It was a constructive meeting with positive outcomes and there was a lot of input from residents and business owners.
“I’m confident it will stop the problem snowballing further. Small rural businesses need all the support they can get.”
The full article contains 288 words and appears in Whitby Gazette Tuesday newspaper.
