Mount Gambier Council votes to remove ‘eyesore’ sporting sponsorship signs

More than 700 sporting club sponsorship signs are at risk of being removed around Mount Gambier because they don’t have council approval.

A sign at Malseed Park in Mount Gambier has been labelled a "flagrant breach of policy" by a councillor. Picture: Jessica Ball

More than 700 sponsorship signs at sporting grounds around Mount Gambier are at risk of being removed as the local council enforces a policy it has historically let slide.

Complaints about an advertising sign at football oval sparked a policy review and – after months of debate – Mount Gambier Council voted to act at Tuesday night’s meeting.

An audit in January found 738 of 744 signs did not have council consent, breaching the council’s Advertising and Signage Policy A170.

Sponsorship signage at McDonald Park in Mount Gambier. Picture: Jessica Ball

Blue Lake Sports Park, Malseed Park, McDonald Park and Vansittart Park had the highest number of infringements.

It included 89 without the required development approval.

While council supported small inward facing signs such as those around the inside of a football oval, concerns were raised about large and outward facing signs.

A report recommended granting “deemed consent” to allow signs to be installed but the council instead voted to enforce the policy.

Cr Steven Perryman, who said he was “not the council signage policeman”, argued it was important to retain control of what happens on council land and work with tenants to ensure the signs were corrected.

“It seems that every time I drive past McDonald Park, there’s another sign there and, in my view, it’s an eyesore,” Cr Perryman said.

“If we go down the path of deemed consent it’s going to get worse.

“The big sign on the back of the scoreboard at Malseed Park is something that I’ve always wondered how such a flagrant breach of policy has been allowed to occur for so long.

Mount Gambier councillor Steven Perryman. Picture: Louise Agnew Photography

“There have been some occupants of the council properties that knowingly or unknowingly have transgressed the conditions of the policy and what we actually need to do as a council to stand by our policy and make sure that our staff are communicating with those occupants and making sure those transgressions are corrected.”

There was a consensus that enforcing the policy was not about kicking sporting clubs and Cr Paul Jenner said, given the circumstances of 2020, it was only fair time was given rectify the issues.

Tenants of council-owned land now have until February 15 to advise council of sponsorship agreements with all non-complying signs to be removed when that period ends or by December 1, 2021.

If they do not respond, council will remove the offending signs.