Golf ads are driven off course

Westminster City Council has started a two-week high profile purge of the West End where most of the 100 'golf boarders' in the city congregate.

The signs, known as portable advertising, often have garish neon signs mounted on long poles which are held upright by low-paid workers.

Daniel Astaire, cabinet member for community protection, says the West End is a world-class destination with 3.5 million visitors every week and the "cheap and tatty signs" have no part in its future.

"Visitors expect and enjoy the buzz of the busy streets around Oxford Street and Covent Garden but they do not want to fight their way past these signs cluttering up the pavement or see them disfiguring a beautiful conservation area.

"The powers will allow us to protect and enhance the character of our public streets and spaces and make Westminster a more enjoyable place for people to come."

The council is the first local authority in the UK to invoke the new powers granted under the London Local Authorities Act by seizing boards and warning those who use them they could be prosecuted.

Both the business and individual holding a golf sign can be prosecuted. However, the council will target the business rather than the individual for prosecution - for which the maximum fine is£2,500.

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