CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to keep up signs protesting about a planned leisure attraction despite being ordered to take them down by council chiefs.

Residents put up placards outside their homes in Allington Lane, close to the Itchen Valley Country Park, where a Go Ape tree top assault course has been proposed, as revealed earlier this year by the Daily Echo.

Eastleigh council chiefs demanded that the householders, all members of the Friends of the Itchen Valley Country Park, pull them down within 48 hours. The council said the residents were in breach of the Town and Country Planning Regulations Act and that the signs could be a danger to traffic on the road.

Margaret Raff, from the Friends of Itchen Valley Country Park, said: “We will not remove the signs until the issue has been resolved as to what our rights are.

“This is a political matter and they’re dealing with it politically. If they have a look, the council will find lots of real advertisements along Allington Lane.

“I don’t believe they all have planning permission in line with the 2007 act. Some of them have been up for years, some months and yet they have noticed ours in two days.”

A spokesman for Eastleigh Borough Council said the signs could cause a distraction for motorists along a busy road.

He added: “The council takes a fair and consistent approach to all breaches of planning consent. With this incident, as in many other similar cases, the council has requested that the signs be removed.

“The council is keen to ensure highway safety along this busy road and to also maintain a pleasant visual environment for local residents.”

Although no official plan for the Go Ape course has been submitted, it is expected to be lodged in the near future.