Billboard ‘hazard’ will be removed

The kitchen sign at the lay-by on the A62

A CHADDERTON-BASED kitchen company has agreed to move a billboard from a Saddleworth accident blackspot.

The move comes after a barrage of complaints to Oldham Council over the sign, advertising new kitchens, on the A62 Oldham to Huddersfield road at Dobcross, late last year.

Now council officials are discussing how to combat a rash of roadside advertising billboards springing up across the borough.

Saddleworth protesters claimed the mobile advert, which had been wheel-clamped by its owner in a lay-by, was destroying the countryside environment and was a potential hazard.

Councillor Derek Heffernan said: “It’s a piece of roadside tat. It should not be allowed on that spot, particularly as the council are about to invest more than £300,000 in new signs and other improvements to the A62.”

The sign was parked just a few yards from where a motorist was killed when a lorry’s load shifted, hitting his vehicle.

Ward councillor Alan Roughley said: “We presently have a rash of portable billboards littering the borough, breaking all long-established rules which control the quantity and content of poster advertising.

“The one on the A62 was a particular hazard, close to a notoriously accident-prone stretch of road.”

Councillor Mike Buckley, who has been trying since November to have the sign removed, said: I have been inundated by complaints that this scenic area is being ruined by this company’s behaviour.

“The positioning of advertising hoardings has to be carefully managed if we are to protect the character of scenic areas.”

Tony Noblet, the town’s highways supremo, said: “There is a real concern over the growth of these random signs. We are in consultations with other local authorities to study the best form of action against them. We do not approve of this kind of roadside advertising.”

Wayne Miles, a director of KWS, the kitchen company which erected the billboard, said: “ I will move the sign. While we need to get our message out in these troubled economic times, I can understand people’s points of view and we don’t want to upset them — but we need to let people know about our products.”