Camden Council says it has the power to remove footway obstructions but is afraid to use it

There was a time when Camden Council officers would inspect streets in the borough and issue enforcement notices against businesses which block the footways with advertising boards. And if they didn’t comply, officers would remove the obstructions without further ado.

Now Camden is afraid to do this because it doesn’t want to be seen as “anti-business”, according to a new report that is due to be pored over by councillors on a scrutiny committee this month.

In October 2023 it took think tank the Centre for London to point out the obvious — leaving all sorts of clutter on the pavement was not good for people trying to get about on foot or by wheelchair. It held up Goodge Street in Fitzrovia as an example of the problem.

More recently Red Szell, a blind resident from Hampstead, has been pressing Camden to do something about the issue of obstructions caused by advertising boards. Camden Council might be poised to do something about it. Or maybe not.

Because it seems the local authority is determined to drag its feet over the issue.

“Camden have reviewed our current practices and have set up [an] A-board Working Group to discuss the issues raised,” states the report that exposes the mindset of local authority practice.

“Currently, the enforcement process for dealing with highway obstructions is ineffective and resource-intensive, failing to deliver lasting change. Businesses are asked to relocate their A-boards to the property line or private forecourt, but without penalties, they often reoffend. The business community feels aggrieved with this approach, seeing it as ‘anti-business’. We need to take a more holistic view encompassing all the issues to deliver change and remove all the temporary obstructions,” states the report.

If that sounds like beating about the bush, there is more like it to come.

According to the report, Camden officers have established a “cross-service working group” to “identify issues, understand current practices”, and “to navigate the complexities [sic] of the current legislation”.

This has led to “bench-marking exercises” and “engagement sessions” which has “underscored the need for lasting change” and “leverages education and innovation”.

Camden even claims it is not the only council in the country that cannot deal with a simple matter.

“Other local authorities have trialled schemes using various Acts and regulations, but these have been resource-intensive and have not delivered lasting change,” states the report.

However, the document reveals the council actually has the ability to do its job properly but chooses not to.

“Camden can use planning powers to remove advertising boards but prefers to work with and to engage with the business community.”

Council officers are instead proposing to carry out a pilot project on Goodge Street with the assistance of The Fitzrovia Partnership Business Improvement District, and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

The three-month trial will involve talking to businesses, collecting data, and analysing the data. At the end of the trial, another report will be written.

Camden Council, Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee, Monday, 13 January 2025.

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