A bid to force letting agents to remove To Let boards from properties in areas of a city with high numbers of students has been hailed as a success by a councillor.

A member of Cardiff local authority says a new regime restricting the display of boards, introduced at the start of last month, has worked.

Streets which were at one time “blighted” are now relatively clear of signs, the councillor says. 

Chris Weaver, a councillor for the city’s Cathays area, is quoted on the Wales Online website as saying: “In our first councillors’ surgery after the boards came down, a resident came in and wanted to give us a hug because her street had changed so much. It’s transformed Cathays – in whole streets you can now see the houses and not adverts. It’s brilliant. Some of the older residents here who have commented on it say the streets haven’t looked like this for a very long time.”

Earlier this year the local council successfully applied for additional controls over the display of boards on homes – in areas of the Cathays and Plasnewydd suburbs of Cardiff boards are banned from October 1 to December 31. From the start of January until the end of September there will be restrictions on the size, location and effect of boards.