SHOPPING centre managers are growing increasingly frustrated at the number of advertising boards "cluttering" Chelmsford High Street.
In February 2013, Essex County Council ruled that businesses are limited to just one advertising board at their entrance after it backtracked on a proposed ban.
Instead the council will leave it to local authorities to decide how to tackle the issue locally.
But Mick McDonagh and Carley Beck, managers at High Chelmer shopping centre, say they have counted more than 132 boards in the city centre and that many shops are flouting the rules.
Some cafes and bars boast more than half-a-dozen boards, which stretch into the High Street pathway creating obstacles for pedestrians and particularly the blind and partially-sighted, wheelchair users and parents with buggies.
"It's a bone of contention," said 32-year-old Ms Beck, who has battled with the A-boards topic for her entire five years in the job.
"It's like a free-for-all for any business to advertise what they want in the city for free.
"You see people on mobile scooters struggling sometimes, and people collide with them."
Mr McDonagh said: "A-boards make things extremely difficult, particularly for blind and partially-sighted people to negotiate the townscape.
"People think they have a god-given right to advertise on the High Street at the expense of people who have to navigate them.
"Nothing will be done until, God forbid, someone is killed."
Mr McDonagh cited Section 132 of the Highways Act 1980 which says it is an offence to affix a sign on a highway. Section 137 also states it is an offence to obstruct free passage along the highway.
Both Mr McDonagh and his deputy Ms Beck suggest businesses should use banners on lampposts to advertise.
Mr McDonagh also claimed that if the proposed multi-million pound revamp of the High Street's pedestrian area goes ahead, it would be a waste if the clutter continued to be tolerated.
A Chelmsford City Council spokesman said: "The council has been looking in detail at Essex County Council's tolerance policy for A-boards and taking this into account is developing draft plans for the city centre that are linked to the wider consideration of the public realm and city centre going forward. A report setting out the proposals and options will go to the council's cabinet after which we will look forward to working with Essex County Council to implement the agreed outcome."
