TRADERS defying a council ban on advertising boards outside their shops have branded the clampdown a ‘witch hunt’.

Kendal business owners face a £2,500 fine from South Lakeland District Council unless they remove A-boards which the authority say contravene planning rules.

This week dozens of letters were sent out to businesses from SLDC’s planning department threatening court action unless boards were removed within four days.

Outraged Geoff Waites, of Carlsons Fishing Tackle in Kirkland, said he would not be taking down his sign, which he said was ‘perfectly legal’. “I believe the council’s efforts and funds should be spent on more pressing matters and it should give up on its witch hunt to drive every business in Kendal out of the area,” he added.

The clampdown was agreed by councillors after director of charity Sight South Lakeland Carl Hodge claimed the boards were preventing visually-impaired people from getting around South Lakeland’s towns.

According to the Department of Communities’ guide to outdoor advertisements which the council has adopted, A-boards are only allowed on an enclosed shop forecourt. Jess Alston of Oakden Plumbing, Highgate, said: “Not having A-boards is not a solution, especially in such difficult economic times. They should have come up with an alternative to help traders if they don’t like them. They’re just hiding behind a blanket of legislation and it’s creating a lot of negativity towards the council,” she said.

South Lakeland district councillor Ben Berry said the authority needed to work with traders and disabled groups to come up with a better solution. “The council is within its rights to ask some people to remove their A-boards but not all are obstructive,” he said. “There has to be a way traders and disabled groups can get around the table and find a better solution, perhaps even looking at it case by case.”

An SLDC spokesperson said: “South Lakeland District Council is acting following several complaints from the public, including groups representing disabled people. It is the authority’s regulatory duty to enforce the laws regarding A boards.

“It is not our intention to stop businesses promoting themselves but they need to do so in a way that is lawful and does not have the potential to cause harm or disruption to pedestrians.”