A ROW has erupted between shop owners and West Devon Borough Council over the use of A-boards in Tavistock.

A letter from the borough council has been sent to businesses requesting that they remove their ‘unauthorised advertisements’, consisting of A-boards, free standing signs and novelty signs, due to a rise in the number of outdoor advertisements.

The letter said that to ‘display signs without benefiting from either deemed consent or express consent does constitute an offence for which any person who benefits from the individual advertisement can be prosecuted’.

But, shop owners have branded this move as ‘upsetting’ and will have an effect on certain shops of the town which struggle with footfall.

Penny Samuels, who owns Brocante on Brook Street, said: ‘I am very upset as having an A-board is an incredibly cheap and incredibly effective way to let people know that we are here. Small shops are heart and soul of Tavistock but we are all struggling. I know there are laws to follow but we are not doing anyone any harm.’

In a notice to West Devon Borough Council, Penny wrote: ‘Not once, in the two years that our A-board has been there, has anybody ever complained about it.

‘Trading in Tavistock for small, independent shops is a daily uphill struggle — competition from the huge supermarkets you’ve allowed into the town, the internet, and the proliferation of charity shops. 

‘You only have to count how many empty shop units alone there are in town (16 at the last count), let alone unoccupied office spaces, to realise that many of us are totally unequal to the continuing struggle and have thrown in the towel before bankruptcy and/or madness ensues.’

Mark Davenport, who owns Kaleidoscope with his wife Valerie, also received the letter regarding their Playmobil statue which has been outside their shop for many years, providing entertainment value to the passing children, and as a way to advertise their business.

‘We have had products outside our shop for 25 years and never had a problem and never had an issue.

‘We are surrounded by campsites and the families on holiday will shop in the town and see our Playmobil man and shop with us, and, to be truthful, we rely on that trade. They even stand their children by the chap and take their picture.

‘Are they (West Devon Borough Council) trying to destroy the town completely? At the end of the day we pay our rates — what are they going to do when we are all bankrupt and the town is dead?’

Shop owner of I Love Candy and chairman of Business Improvement District (BID) Robin Rich said that the issue surrounding A-boards has been ongoing for many years.

‘I feel that as long as the A-boards are not in the way of the highway then they are fine to use as they are great platforms to use to advertise the businesses.

‘I am passionate about boards as I know that they work and this has been going on for years. BID will fight the blanket ban and this might be an ideal opportunity to re-look at the ban.

‘Businesses need to advertise.’

Tavistock North Cllr Jeff Moody, and Mayor of West Devon Borough Council, said: ‘I totally object to a “blanket ban” of A-boards in Tavistock and have made my feelings clear to the borough council.

‘A-boards have been used historically as “custom and practice” advertising for many, many years and in other historic towns such as Bath are universally tolerated as a method by which traders can attract shoppers.

‘As ward member for Tavistock North, I do not see A-boards as an issue, have never seen them as a problem and have never had a single complaint from a member of the public —unless there are problems with pedestrian or disabled traffic, I can see no reason for a “blanket ban”.’

In response, a spokesperson for West Devon Borough Council said: ‘The difficulty in cases like this is that where an enforcement has gone unchecked in an area for a long period time, you often find multiple occurrences of more than one person displaying material without permission.

‘In Tavistock, we have many businesses displaying A-boards without permission and the accumulative effect of lots of signs has the potential to cause an obstruction an can be dangerous.

‘The council does not want to have to take formal enforcement action unless absolutely necessary and we appreciate that this is a collective problem for Tavistock that we do need to look at.

‘With hindsight, we could have dealt with this matter differently and the executive directors and the leader of the council will be discussing this matter in detail this week. They will then liaise with the business community of Tavistock.’