TOUGH action to crack down on ‘unsightly and dangerous’ illegal advertising hoardings in Blackburn with Darwen is on the way.

Town Hall bosses will use new powers to stop signs and poster structures sprouting on streets without authorisation.

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It will allow officials to remove or destroy them and recover the costs from the firms which put them up.

In a report to tonight’s council planning and highways committee, officers say: “Unauthorised advertisements are a growing problem within the borough.

“If left unchecked they will not only have an increasingly detrimental effect on the visual amenity of the areas in which they are being sited but also set an unacceptable precedent.

“It is hoped use of these new powers will reduce the number of illegal advertisements and negate the need for protracted investigations and prosecutions.”

Committee chairman and Sunnyhurst councillor Dave Smith welcomed them and said some hoardings on roadsides and at junctions were dangerous as well as eyesores.

He said: “This is a growing problem and we need to do something.

The council gets complaints about these structures just sprouting up willy-nilly.

“They are not just unsightly but at junctions affect drivers’ sightlines and be dangerous.

“I have received complaints about one set of poster boards at the junction of the A666 Bolton Road and Watery Lane in Darwen.

“They have come from residents and drivers who say they affect sightlines as well as being an eyesore. Some of them appear to be unauthorised and I have asked officers to investigate and see what can be done.

“The greater powers the government has given us under the Localism Act of 2011 will be very useful.

“We will be able to use them to take enforcement action.

“However, I hope those who put them up will take notice and either not erect them in the first place, or remove them before we take action.”

The report to the committee says the council will be able to issue ‘removal notices’ and take down or ‘obliterate’ offending items and recover expenses.

It adds: “These powers will not cure all illegal advertisement problems, their use should send out the message those advertisements will not be tolerated and swift action will be taken.”