Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 - [Section 59]
"... nothing shall be placed or deposited in a road so as to cause an obstruction
except with the roads authority's consent in writing and in accordance with
any reasonable conditions which they think fit to attach to the consent."
Note: A "road" here includes the carriageway and the footway (commonly called the pavement).
Note: The "roads authority" for Highland is the Highland Council.
Transport Scotland - [Roads for All - Page 44]
"Shop owners should be made to remove illegal advertising boards from the footway.
This type of obstruction is particularly difficult for visually impaired people to detect,
since these are free standing and not always in the same place every day.
Once one shop owner puts an advertising board on the street there is a tendency for other
traders to follow suit. On narrow footways these boards can create a “slalom” effect
which is difficult for pedestrians to negotiate."
Transport Scotland - Good practice includes:
- A minimum 2.0m wide obstacle-free passageway is retained;
- There is no more than one board at each frontage;
- Pedestrians are not forced into the carriageway, ...;
- The minimum height of the board is 1m;
Highland Council - [Shopfront Design Guide - Page 21]
"Freestanding signs such as A-Boards are often unnecessary, can lead to street clutter
and create obstacles for the visually impaired and those with mobility problems."
Council Roads Inspectors are responsible for enforcing this policy.
Where such signs are to be used they should be limited to:
i. one sign per business
ii. approx. 1m high and 0.75m wide and able to resist being blown over
iii. sited immediately outside the business being advertised
and only where the width of the footpath allows
iv. only be displayed during the opening hours of the business
Highland Council - [Form - Conditions for Permission]
"Obstructions on any part of the road, which includes footways, verges, carriageways and public spaces,
can cause great difficulty for some sections of our communities, especially the blind and partially sighted,
those with disabilities, wheelchair users and those with prams and pushchairs."
"Authorisation will not be given for any obstruction which, in the opinion of the Roads Authority,
creates or has the potential to create a hazard"
In urban areas all boards/advertising etc must:
- be placed at the rear of the footway i.e. adjacent to the building line
- present no hazard to pedestrians or wheelchair users
- be no more than 0.75m wide and 1m in height (subject to available space)
- not be fixed to street furniture
- not reduce the remaining available footway width
between carriageway and front of display/sign below 1.8m
- for streets with high pedestrian usage - not reduce the remaining available footway width
between carriageway and front of display/sign below 2.75m
- for Pedestrianised Areas - not reduce the remaining available footway width
between carriageway and front of display/sign below 3.5m.
- not to cause offence or a hazard to the road user
- only one such object will be permitted for each premises