Housing Developments Directional Signage

Back in 2007 because of the proliferation of developer's signage I contacted the then Mid Beds Planning Enforcement. I eventually ended up with Amey who at that time were responsible for highways at Bedfordshire County Council They now are responsible for them at Central Bedfordshire Council.

Eventually in July 2007 I received a statement from the Amey Assistant Highway Policy Manager.

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 Changes to national signing legislation authorised the erection of black on yellow signs to provide directions to special events and new developments. 

Some developers have sought formal approval for the locations of signs, which has made it possible to agree an appropriate level of signing to minimise clutter.

Regrettably, a number of developers in the past have erected signs with no authorisation, leading to a proliferation of unauthorised signs.

The approved signs are those black on yellow signs that look like road signs. Any sign that contain the developers name or signs that are not black on yellow are not and will not be approved.

For your information our policy states :

New Developments

There are clear benefits, in traffic management terms, to ensure that access for construction traffic and deliveries is made by the most appropriate route.  It is suggested that the following procedures are adopted:

i.        All developments are required to receive approval from Bedfordshire Highways for their signing regime.

ii.       Applications would be subject to a £100 inspection fee.

iii.      Signing would only be permitted from the nearest A classified road, unless there are clear environmental benefits of an alternative route.

iv.      Each sign would be subject to a £50 deposit, refundable on removal of the sign.

v.       All signing will be removed upon completion of the development.

vi.      Failure to submit an application or non-compliance with an approved application could lead to enforcement action under the Highways Act to remove unauthorised signs.

If you know of any signs that you feel do not meet these requirements, please advise the Highways Helpdesk, who will pass the locations on to the Area Team for them to arrange the removal.  

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This is acceptable signage subject to approval of siting, size etc.

It must not include the developers name and no other colouring than black on yellow

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As there is nothing on CBC web site concerning developer's signage, I recently asked Central Bedfordshire to confirm this is still their (Amey) policy. They have referred me to Amey for a response.

In the meantime I have assumed the policy is unchanged, so if you see a developers sign that does not meet the above criteria, you can report it to:

highways@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk