Photo taken by Albert Bridge, and used under a Creative Commons licence

Letting boards will be banned in Jesmond and other areas of Newcastle without the express permission of Newcastle City Council, JesmondLocal has learned.

Newcastle City Council has been granted power by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to regulate the display of letting boards across Gosforth, Heaton, High West Jesmond, Jesmond, Sandyford, Shieldfield, South Gosforth and Spital Tongues. The direction, under the Town and Country Planning regulations 2007, restricts “deemed consent” for advertising to let properties.

The council had asked DCLG for permission to restrict the display of letting boards under the direction in July 2013. Three parties objected to the request, and a hearing was held in May 2014, where the efficacy of the voluntary code for displaying letting boards currently carried out between letting agencies and the council was probed.

The inspector overseeing the request noted that “without the voluntary code the number of boards would have been even greater than they are at present.”

JesmondLocal understands the powers invested in the council, which will include the ability to fine those who do not comply with the rules, will not be implemented for some time, to allow letting agents to adapt their businesses.

The display of letting boards have proved to be a decisive issue, and one which was mentioned by many candidates in the August 28th by-election for North Jesmond. Some residents argue that in student-heavy populations such as Jesmond, letting boards can dimish the surrounding environment and lower house prices. It has been claimed that agents are slow to take down boards after properties have been let.

Bobbie Harding of the Jesmond Community Forum told JesmondLocal that she was “highly delighted Newcastle City Council is now able to protect Jesmond’s streets from the unsightly blight of permanent lettings boards.”

Once the rules are put in place by Newcastle City Council, individual appeals to display letting boards must be made to the council, and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The overall decision granting the council this power, made by the Secretary of State, can only be challenged in the High Court. The powers given to the council will remain in place indefinitely.