Insurance plan for Shropshire traders' A-boards

All traders in Shropshire will have to provide public liability insurance to the value of £5 million from September if they want to display A-boards outside their premises, if a new policy is approved.

Shropshire Council is taking action following a spate of complaints in towns including Ludlow, Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock.

The authority has already introduced a pilot scheme in Bridgnorth and Ludlow, where traders are allowed to display two boards providing they provide insurance. However, it is set to roll that programme out to all towns in the county.

The council is keen to save council tax payers' money by reducing its own insurance bill. It does not want to be presented with a huge bill for compensation in the event of a shopper or pedestrian tripping over an A- board and sustaining injury.

However, in Telford & Wrekin, there are no plans to follow suit by installing similar regulations. It said it has not received complaints from either traders or pedestrians and is not experiencing the same difficulties as its counterparts at Shropshire Council.

Today Councillor Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Council's portfolio holder for strategic planning and transportation, said the authority did not want to run the risk of being landed with a huge bill.