Businesses in Kingston will make one final attempt to have Kingston Council's ban on street advertising boards lifted.

Many smaller shopkeepers say they can't compete with the bigger stores without being able to attract walk-in trade cheaply through the use of A-boards.

But Kingston Council decided to ban them earlier this year because they are a hazard for the partially-sighted. The move was welcomed by disabled rights groups and the Kingston Society, but businesses will make representations to Kingston Council's scrutiny panel next Wednesday.

Chairman of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce Lisa Gagliani said: "Quite honestly I think the council has made up its mind, but it simply needs to be put on the record that smaller independent businesses are likely to be the minority group that's overlooked, in favour of a solution which will not actually solve the problem."

Part of Ms Gagliani's complaint is that A-boards on private property, for instance in a restaurant with a pavement seating section, cannot be prevented from displaying A-boards, because the ban only applies to public footways.

Several of Kingston's leading retail voices, including town centre manager Graham McNally, will give representations to the scrutiny panel.

Ms Gagliani added: "About 24 towns in the country have implemented a legal licensing scheme, and this is what Mr McNally wants - to help the businesses that otherwise would be vulnerable and exposed."

The first decision to ban A-boards was made in April, following last year's shopfronts and shop signs strategy, and officers were told to press ahead with enforcement of the ban earlier this month.

Officers were also looking at bollards and other highway impediments which could be roblematic for people with limited sight or mobility problems.

It is these obstructions, and the fact that A-boards cannot be banned from private property, which have annoyed businesses.

Ms Gagliani said: "The number of A-boards which can be enforced by the council properly will make up about 10 to 15 per cent of all street obstacles."

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