Chiswick estate agent boards 'create clutter and should be banned'. Sales and lettings boards are already banned in large areas of West London. When will Chiswick follow suit?
Agents’ signs are to disappear in much of West London after twenty three conservation areas are designated as board-free zones.
Neighbouring London borough councils
Hammersmith & Fulham and
Kensington & Chelsea have both won Government permission, to bring in total bans on boards, creating Britain’s biggest board-free area.
Estate agents further afield are bracing themselves for widespread bans. However Christian Harper of Chiswick estate agent OliverFinn, welcomes the initiative: “I personally think estate agents’ boards should be banned everywhere. Clearly this ban has been caused by agents’ consistently breaking planning regulations and blighting neighbourhoods with fly boards.
“Unfortunately many estate agents have not been mature enough to use them as a valuable marketing tool. Some have left boards up for over six months in Chiswick. Hounslow and Ealing councils should follow the example of neighbouring councils and outlaw 'for sale' and 'to let' boards outside property in W4 immediately".
The internet has made boards redundant
People still buy houses without boards, which is further proof as to the effectiveness of modern digital marketing methods. Ninety five per cent of homebuyers start their search online and this measure will bring this figure closer to 100%.
“Buyers don’t need boards and neither do sellers,” says Harper. “All we need now is to rid Chiswick High Road of boring ‘glass fish bowl’ estate agent offices.”
The new restrictions apply initially for five years.
