A TRIAL ban of advertising A-boards looks set to be made permanent this week, to the delight of disability campaigners but the dismay of traders.

Bradford Council had been running a pilot ban in four areas of the district – the city centre, Saltaire, Ilkley and Bradford’s Leeds Road – amid fears A-boards were proving a dangerous obstruction for blind or partially-sighted people and wheelchair-users.

But small business owners tried and failed to halt the trial part-way through, saying it was hitting their takings and could drive some traders to the wall.

Now a health scrutiny committee will meet on Thursday to consider how the trial has gone and make its final recommendation to the decision-making Executive.

A report drawn up by officers recommends that the ban be extended to all urban centres in the district.

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Paul Robinson, chairman of the Holme Wood Visually Impaired Persons (VIP) Group, welcomed the recommendation.

He said: “You have the same rule for the roads, everybody knows you don’t put things on the road. It makes sense to keep the footpath clear as well.

“It’s for safety, it makes it easier for everybody and it makes the place look nicer.”

Mr Robinson, who is visually impaired, gave the example of Ivegate in Bradford, which he said he could now walk up and down with ease.

He said he used to have to avoid the street because of the number of obstructions, which had often been set down on top of the tactile paving laid down to guide people with impaired vision.

But Val Summerscales, secretary of the Bradford District Chamber of Trade, said she would be hugely disappointed if traders hadn’t been listened to.

She said the Chamber had wanted the Council to continue with the old system, in which traders had to abide by certain rules on where they could place A-boards or face enforcement action.

She said: “We felt that a blanket ban was totally wrong because it penalised those businesses that adhered to the legislation.”

Mrs Summerscales said there had been a “concerted effort” by traders in both Saltaire and Ilkley to try to halt the trial by highlighting the damage it was doing to trade.

She said: “It was adversely affecting business and the Council chose to run the trial to its end rather than stopping it and if the recommendation is that they are going to continue it, they have ignored everything the traders have said.

“That isn’t consultation. It’s ‘do-as-I-say’.”

The report also recommends that the Council could look into alternative ways of allowing traders to advertise their premises, such as by installing new planters on pavements which have space for adverts on the side.

Mr Robinson said he was concerned to hear this, as the planters could prove just as much of an obstruction.

And Mrs Summerscales said planters would cost businesses to advertise on, and said the Council would likely benefit from that.

She said: “It’s a win-win for the Council but it would be a lose-lose for businesses.”

The health and social care overview and scrutiny committee meets on Thursday at City Hall, Bradford.

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