I took advantage of the mild weather today and went out for one of my regular ward walkabouts, today focussing on the area around Erleigh Road and London Road. I picked up a lot of issues on my way round and it was nice to catch up with people for a chat.
I said hello to the proud owner of the new hairdresser's on Hatherley Road: so nice to see that empty shop occupied at last after years of lying empty.
I spent the morning reading a summary of comments received during the scrutiny review into private rented housing, the public consultation on which closed last week. I will be sitting down with members of scrutiny panels tomorrow to discuss the feedback and consider next steps.
One of the minor but nonetheless important issues that was raised by several respondents in the review was the proliferation of 'to let' signs on many roads around Reading. This is a particular problem around Wokingham Road and Erleigh Road.
The photo above shows Cardigan Road where this is a particular problem.
As one resident remarked:
“This is an area where 'To Let' or 'Let by' signs are rapidly coming to dominate the streetscape, and they are effectively permanent; they are not just in front gardens but are now appearing as permanent fixtures on the house fronts.”
My colleagues and I have been aware of this blight for some time, and back in January Kirsten Bayes made enquiries about what could be done to regulate them. Officers responded saying:
'It is an on-going problem with many estate agents constantly pushing the limits with respect to For Sale and To Let signs...If an estate agent refused to remove the sign, prosecution would be considered. Unless there we aggravating circumstances it is very unlikely it would be in the public interest to prosecute what is seen by many to be a relatively minor matter.'
The regulations say that once installed 'the advertisement shall be removed within 14 days after the completion of a sale or the grant of a tenancy'. It is clear that this limit is being breached regularly. However, the view of officers is that prosecution would need to be considered only as an absolute last resort and we are minded to agree with them.
Officers advise that anyone with concerns about 'permanent' letting signs in their street should contact the planning enforcement team at RBC.
I wonder whether establishing some kind of informal code or policy for letting agents about good practice when it comes to letting signs might help.
I have a lot of sympathy with residents who don't like living amongst a forest of tatty signs and don't like to see neighbouring houses advertised to burglars and other potentially uninvited guests. As such we will continue to investigate what if any positive action can be taken to improve the streetscene for local residents.
If anyone has any good ideas about how this particular issue has been tackled successfully in other parts of the country I would be very interested to hear from them.
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