The Portsmouth Society - News

News Traffic Signs in Conservation Areas
Earlier news As part of their Accessible City Strategy, commencing in the spring of 2002, Portsmouth City Engineer employed consultants to erect about 300 very large Traffic and Tourist Direction Signs throughout the City, many of them within Conservation Areas.

The Portsmouth Society supported this strategy in principle but campaigned vigorously for the removal or re-siting of individual signs that were offensive in such terms as:
  1. Physical obstructions, by multiple supports on pavements and/or cycle tracks
  2. Signs containing misleading and/or too much information
  3. Unnecessary duplications of proceeding signs.
  4. Offending the principles of the Conservation Areas
Our investigations found that The Consultants were unaware of the extent of Conservation Areas and neither they nor the City Engineer had consulted the City Planning Officer. The latter declined to take action when first appraised of the infringements


It took many months of correspondence plus an appeal to the Chief Executive and a threat to refer the matter to the Ombudsman before the City Engineer and the City Planning Officer consulted together and produced an agreement to work together in future and to review the situation. As a result of this review, at the end of 2002, a number of offending signs were removed and/or re-sited. Others remained.

Despite support for us by the City Planning Officer, the City Engineer continually refused to remove one of the largest and most offending signs (listing no less than nine Tourist destinations) that actually obstructed the view of Southsea Common from the window of an 80 year old lady. The situation was reviewed in October 2003 by the BBC Politics Show and the city's MP (Mike Hancock) assured the public that a resolution would be found. As nothing was done, I asked the Local Councillor whether the City was ruled by our elected representatives or by the officers of the City Council? At his instigation the City Engineer belatedly proposed a solution that involved reducing the size of the sign by half. He promised that it would be done by mid-June - as amended to 13 July. The Contractors spent several hours removing the old sign and replacing it with one that still bore the same nine destinations in large script, appeared to be virtually the same size, but now in a marginally higher position. The view from the window of the elderly lady (temporarily bedridden) was still obstructed.

The City Engineer was reported to have commented words to the effect "We have had another communications problem." As is well known, this is a failing that is endemic in Portsmouth City Council.

Postscript: On 3 August 04 the PCC Contractors reappeared. This time they removed the top half of the sign and lowered the bottom half even more. They retained the hefty great legs, but cut them off level with the top of the now lowered sign. Not the perfect solution but a compromise that we are glad to accept and which has pleased the elderly resident considerably. At last she has regained her uninterrupted view of the Common. - what a pity that it has taken over two years for common sense to prevail.

Bob Adderley