Pubs face A-board ban

Pubs have been warned they face huge fines if they do not remove A-boards from outside their premises because blind people could walk into them.

City of York Council has written to businesses in the area telling them to get rid of the boards or face potential fines of up to £2,500.

The move is understood to have followed from a complaint from a charity for the blind.

Marc Allinson, who owns freehouse the Artful Dodger, in the city centre is among a group of traders fighting the decision.

"Everyone got a letter saying we could get fined. It's just ridiculous and smacks of council workers trying to justify their jobs," he said.

"Nobody has been able to provide any evidence that this has actually been a problem.

"This could lead to a drop in trade and with things the way they are at the moment it could be enough to force some pubs to close."

The traders have come up with a set of proposals in a bid to keep the boards. These include having a sign size restriction and putting reflective material on the boards to make them easier for the partially-sighted to see.

Kev Jones, licensee of Briganties, also in the city centre, removed his sign and suffered a 25 per cent drop in trade.

He said: "I lost a lot of my Sunday lunch trade and people didn't know what was going on in here on certain nights because I couldn't display it on the board."

But Diane Roworth, chief officer of York Blind and Partially Sighted Society, said the signs were a serious hazard.

"It is something we feel strongly about and they do cause problems.

"There are so many obstructions on pavements. People get used to where the permanent fixtures are but A-boards do not go back in exactly the same place."

She added there were no figures of accidents involving people with A-boards because people are embarrassed about reporting them.

A spokeswoman for City of York Council confirmed businesses that did not comply could face fines.

She said: "We have had a number of complaints from partially-sighted people who have walked into these signs and are tackling the problem throughout the city centre, area by area.

"It's important to point out that the same rules apply to shops and businesses throughout the city. We will be taking this issue up with every shop or business found to be placing signs on the public highway."

Last month The Publican​ revealed the Black Dog in Chilmark, Wiltshire, was told to remove a roadsign on the A303 due to fears from the Highways Agency that it could encourage drink-driving.

The Highways Agency has since back-tracked and is reviewing the decision.