BUSINESSES will soon be able to advertise on Flintshire’s roundabouts for the first time.

Members of Flintshire council’s executive committee voted in favour of updating the council policy to allow advertising on adopted highway roundabouts as well as allowing roundabouts to be sponsored.

The council has been receiving applications of this nature for many years but they are always rejected at the planning stage amid fears over health and safety.

Cllr Tony Sharps, executive member for environment, has been fighting for three-and-a-half years to get the policy changed and he is now urging council planners to handle any future applications with “common sense”.

He said: “I certainly hope that when applications come in from people who want to advertise their wares that a certain degree of common sense is adhered to and people don’t go out of their way to stop it.”

Cllr Matt Wright, executive member for regeneration and tourism, said the move would benefit the economy.

“There has been tremendous interest from businesses and at the end of the day it is income and it will benefit the local economy,” he said.

As well as advertising on roundabouts, groups or organisations can sponsor a roundabout and will contribute towards the ongoing maintenance. It is hoped this will make the roundabouts look more attractive to visitors.

There are currently 20 roundabouts within the highway network that can be utilised for this purpose. These include two in Mold town centre, two on the A5104 near Broughton Shopping Park and seven on the A548 from Talacre to Deeside.