A COUPLE have finally been allowed to display the name of their Kings Langley shop on a sign, more than a year after opening.

Dacorum Borough Council initially rejected planning permission for new shop signage at Poppy's Flowers in the High Street, after the owners took down the plastic Langley Flowers sign put up by the previous proprietors.

This was because Wayne and Selena Frost had revealed an old wooden sign reading, The Langley Stores, which was spotted by council planners who deemed it historic.

A council representative said: "The council was following planning guidance from the government on historic buildings in terms of retaining historic features."

The council's solicitors even sent Mr Frost a letter, saying that if he put up a sign covering the historic one, he could face a £20,000 fine, or jail for six months.

Mr Frost appealed against the planning refusal and it was overturned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) in September. For full story see Friday's printed version of the Watford Observer.