Councillors should come clean on cost of signs

South Tyneside Council claim they're 'open, honest and accountable' but this couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to how they manage our money.
Council chiefs are being urged to come clean over how much digital signs on the A194 will cost.Council chiefs are being urged to come clean over how much digital signs on the A194 will cost.
Council chiefs are being urged to come clean over how much digital signs on the A194 will cost.

Perhaps to claw back some of the £900million debt they’ve gotten themselves into, it seems their new strategy is to install large digital advertising billboards throughout the area, like the one on the A194.

I am dismayed that our councillors are keeping tight-lipped about how much these billboards cost and won’t even tell us if we’re footing the bill as local taxpayers.

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They are also staying silent on how long it could take for these billboards to raise enough revenue to cover their original cost and ongoing maintenance.

Could it be five years or 50 years? We have no idea.

It may also be the case that the council will have to pay a private company to display their own messages on the screens.

This is not good enough.

When South Tyneside residents question our elected councillors we don’t expect a wall of silence.

So, South Tyneside Council, please come clean. How much are you spending?

Owain Curtis,

South Tyneside Green Party.