“Cluttered and Ugly” for sale signs should be banned from the Crystal Palace conservation area, campaigners have said.

Residents and traders in the Crystal Palace Triangle Planning Group (CPTPG) believe banning the boards will “improve the environment and declutter the streets.”

They hope Croydon Council will follow the lead taken by Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea councils, which recently won permission from the Government to ban the boards in 23 conservation areas.

CPTPG chairmain David Walker said: “It’s high time these boards were banned in conservation areas. They are often tatty and ugly and a great many are up for inordinate amounts of time.”

He said the boards were free advertising for estate agents, left up after sales were complete, and councils should start imposing limits on how long they should be up.

He said empty properties could be advertised in the premises’ windows and online.

A spokeswoman for Croydon Council said: “We have been approached by CPTPG about their concerns.

“We are currently looking into it and have no further information at this stage.”