Sign policy raises business owners' ire

The Marlborough District Council could be buying a fight with some Blenheim business owners as it cracks down on sandwich-board signs illegally placed on footpaths in the central business district.

The councillor with responsibility for the central business district, Gerald Hope, said yesterday the council did not want to stifle business, but a balance was needed.

Signs can be placed only outside the business they relate to and must be within one metre of it.

Seats are allowed in front of shops as long as they don't impede pedestrians, while products also can only be placed immediately outside businesses. In all cases, pedestrians must be left with a footpath width of at least 2.5 metres.

Mr Hope said the council was acting because it had received complaints about sandwich boards cluttering footpaths and causing problems for those with reduced mobility or impaired vision.

They had a point, he said.

"It's all right for me – I'm able bodied and I just move around them. But not everyone can."

The law has been around for several years, but has not been actively policed.

However, the move has upset some business owners.

- The Marlborough Express