Council praised on street signs

Kensington & Chelsea has become safer after removing street signs

A London borough has been praised by government advisors in a report calling for fewer street signs.

Kensington & Chelsea had been "transformed" by the removal of barriers and crossings according to the advisors' findings.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) also said signs and barriers gave the "illusion" of safety but often made things worse.

It has called for a new approach to the design of streets in England.

Between 2002-2004, Kensington & Chelsea Council removed signs from High Street Kensington.

Comparing three years before and three years after the removal scheme was implemented, the borough found it had experienced a 43 per cent drop in personal injury accidents compared to an average of 17 per cent for the rest of London, the CABE report cited.

CABE's director Sarah Gaventa said: "Kensington High Street has been transformed by the removal of barriers and crossings."