DISABILITY groups turned out in force today in a last-ditch effort to persuade council chiefs to ban A-boards.

But despite impassioned speeches, the authority’s Executive instead opted to introduce a new licensing scheme in four areas where a full ban had been trialled.

Seven spokesmen from disability groups all called for the advertising boards to be banned to allow blind people, wheelchair users and others to get around safely.

These included Maqsood Sheikh, of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), who said the charity campaigned to ban A-boards all over the country.

He said its research showed 95 per cent of visually impaired people had collided with street obstructions, with half of these incidents resulting in injuries.

The Council’s health and social care overview and scrutiny committee had examined the trial results in depth and had recommended the ban be extended across all urban centres of the district.

The chairman of the scrutiny committee, Councillor Vanda Greenwood (Lab, Windhill and Wrose), spoke of her disappointment that this wasn’t being taken up.

She said: “Our comments have not been really looked at in detail at all, but more importantly, we don’t feel that the disability groups have had a real shot at this at all.”

No traders spoke, but Councillor Martin Love (Green, Shipley) said any scheme should apply to all areas equally, not just a select few.

Officers told the meeting that during the trial they had discovered shortcomings in the council’s land ownership records.

This meant it had been very difficult to prove which pavement areas were public land and which were owned by businesses, meaning the landowners could do what they wanted there.

The meeting heard a licensing system would mean fewer A-boards, and businesses would only get a licence if their board did not block the pavement.

Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw (Lab, Windhill and Wrose), who leads on planning, said the authority hadn’t had an issue with all A-boards.

He said: “The issue is poorly sited A-boards, so a licensing system ensures they are appropriately sited.”

He said it would also fund the necessary enforcement action at a time when the Council didn’t have much money.

The committee approved the licensing system for Ilkley, Saltaire, the city centre and the Leeds Road area of Bradford, as well as a 12-month trial of a system in which businesses can advertise on new planters.

Afterwards, disability groups said they felt hugely let down.

Emmerson Walgrove, chairman of the Bradford Disabled People’s Forum, said: “We are very disappointed that the Executive have not listened to disabled people across the district or their own scrutiny committee, which shows disregard not just for disabled people but the views of their own committee.”