Jimmy Carr's dad in row with Dudley Council over roundabout advertising

Businessman Jim Carr is furious after Dudley Council ordered signs – managed by his company – be taken down across the borough.

Mr Carr, whose stand-up star son has just announced a fourth date at the council-run Dudley Town Hall later this year, runs Marketing Force, which has had advertising rights for roundabouts in Dudley since 2005.

Several companies are displayed on traffic islands across the borough, through Mr Carr’s company with a proportion of the money going into council coffers.

However the contract has come to an end and the council says it has to put it back out to tender.

Bosses at the authority said this had to be done as the contract had come to an end and had to be put back out to tender in the interests of fairness to other potential bidders and to ensure the council was getting the best value for money.

It also said some of the signs needed to be refreshed.

But Mr Carr has accused the council of wasting money by taking down the signs, and therefore losing out on income in the meantime.

He said Marketing Force had even offered to operate the signs for free and could well potentially win the contract again, meaning signs would then have to go back up.

Dudley Council bosses said there needed to be a “level playing field” for all companies wanting to bid for the contract and that the signs needed to be refreshed.

But Mr Carr said: “It is not their business, they don’t know anything about roundabout advertising. They are big and we are small. I am saying something for the taxpayer. It is beyond stupid to remove the signs and not to leave them in place. We were willing to operate them for free. We will review our legal position.”

Councillor Bec Gentle, head of commercial at Dudley Council, said: “The roundabout advertising contract with Marketing Force ended in January 2018.

"We are in communications with Marketing Force to remove the current signage so we can start the procurement exercise again.

"We would reassure existing sponsors that we fully intend to continue, and indeed extend, our outdoor advertising opportunities as a platform for local businesses to promote themselves.

"It is fundamental that our outdoor advertising contracts provide best value for money to our taxpayers.

“We need to refresh all the signage, much of which has been in situ for several years, hence the decision to remove the existing signage and create a level playing field for all potential bidders.

"We are therefore legally not permitted to extend the current contract – whether free or not – without going through a procurement process.”