INTRUSIVE ‘To Let’ boards are set to be the subject of a council crackdown in the New Year.

Bournemouth council is investigating the possibility of applying for a Regulation 7 Directive to cover the Winton area, which would mean ‘To Let’ boards would need advertisement consent.

This was a step recently taken by Newcastle City Council, which successfully applied for a Regulation 7 direction for several different areas of the city.

Winton has long had a problem with profligate ‘To Let’ boards at many of the area’s student houses. A previous attempt to set up a voluntary code of practice had only limited success and there are some properties that have ‘To Let’ boards outside them permanently, regardless of whether they are actively on the market.

Winton East Cllr Pat Oakley said: “We have for some years now tried to get the estate agents and letting agents to adopt a voluntary code of practice.

“This would mean that To Let and For Sale signs would be removed immediately when a sale or let has been agreed.

“Many of the better agents followed this code for a while but there were always some agents who are irresponsible and inconsiderate to the residents of Winton and have ignored the voluntary code, making it very difficult for the remaining landlords to comply.

“This wouldn’t be a quick fix but it’s something that we will be exploring in the New Year. Seeing Newcastle take this step has given us renewed optimism that something can be done.

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into sprucing up Winton, getting the streets cleaned every week and making it as clean and uncluttered as possible.

“It’s very frustrating then when letting agents leave multiple signs outside their property for months at a time.

“The time has come to look at the issue and I’m hopeful we will come at it from the same approach Newcastle has.”