Letting boards regulation 7 direction
Newcastle City Council has fought back against the proliferation of ‘To Let’ boards that it says are ‘intrusive’ and ‘spoil popular areas’. From January 2015, landlords and lettings agents will need to apply for advertisement consent to install lettings boards. Court action and fines of up to £2,500 will then apply to boards that are not removed or do not have advertisement consent.
The move comes following a successful application to the Government for a regulation 7 direction which will apply in; Gosforth, Heaton, High West Jesmond, Jesmond, Sandyford, Shieldfield, South Gosforth and Spital Tongues.
Normally, letting boards are considered to have deemed consent under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations. However, a regulation 7 direction removes this deemed consent for a specified area.
Cabinet member for Investment and Development, Cllr Ged Bell said: “The council has tried for a number of years to reduce the amount of lettings boards in certain areas of the city, even introducing a voluntary code for landlords.
“Residents tell us that too many boards spoil areas and negatively affect house prices, particularly in areas like Jesmond and Sandyford that often contain student households.
“We are very pleased the Planning Inspector agrees with us that we need more powers to take firmer action against landlords and letting agents who pepper our streets with these intrusive ‘to let’ boards.
“This Regulation 7 direction gives us the power to take enforcement action against a significant minority and address an issue which is a persistent concern for residents in some of our most densely populated neighbourhoods.
“We realise this is a big change for some local businesses, so we are giving them a three month window to get used to the new direction and remove any boards.”
Newcastle is the first big English city to successfully apply for a Regulation 7 direction requiring consent for lettings boards (although directions are in place in cities such as Nottingham to control the design of boards). It remains to be seen whether other cities will follow.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
ECA support for Gate Safe’s Safe School Gates Campaign.
Core construction skills explained
Preparing for a career in construction.
Retrofitting for resilience with the Leicester Resilience Hub
Community-serving facilities, enhanced as support and essential services for climate-related disruptions.
Some of the articles relating to water, here to browse. Any missing?
Recognisable Gothic characters, designed to dramatically spout water away from buildings.
A case study and a warning to would-be developers
Creating four dwellings... after half a century of doing this job, why, oh why, is it so difficult?
Reform of the fire engineering profession
Fire Engineers Advisory Panel: Authoritative Statement, reactions and next steps.
Restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster
A complex project of cultural significance from full decant to EMI, opportunities and a potential a way forward.
Apprenticeships and the responsibility we share
Perspectives from the CIOB President as National Apprentice Week comes to a close.
The first line of defence against rain, wind and snow.
Building Safety recap January, 2026
What we missed at the end of last year, and at the start of this...
National Apprenticeship Week 2026, 9-15 Feb
Shining a light on the positive impacts for businesses, their apprentices and the wider economy alike.
Applications and benefits of acoustic flooring
From commercial to retail.
From solid to sprung and ribbed to raised.
Strengthening industry collaboration in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Institute of Construction and The Chartered Institute of Building sign Memorandum of Understanding.
A detailed description from the experts at Cornish Lime.
IHBC planning for growth with corporate plan development
Grow with the Institute by volunteering and CP25 consultation.
Connecting ambition and action for designers and specifiers.
Electrical skills gap deepens as apprenticeship starts fall despite surging demand says ECA.
Built environment bodies deepen joint action on EDI
B.E.Inclusive initiative agree next phase of joint equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) action plan.
Recognising culture as key to sustainable economic growth
Creative UK Provocation paper: Culture as Growth Infrastructure.