A sign erected at the office of Darlington’s MP without planning permission has been removed.
Workers at Lola McEvoy’s new office on Blackwellgate took down the sign on Tuesday after falling foul of local planning laws.
The Labour MP opened her new office to the public last week, six months after being elected in July 2024. She faced criticism for the delay but insisted the safety and security of office staff was a “top priority”.
A red banner reading ‘Lola McEvoy Member of Parliament for Darlington’ was attached to the town centre building. However, the MP did not apply for or receive planning permission.
Erecting the sign requires advertisement consent and listed building consent.
It is understood work is underway to apply for the correct permission.
A spokesperson for Lola McEvoy said: “This was an administrative error and we apologise. The office received permission to replace the previous signage on the building with our own, but were not aware that additional planning consent would be needed.
“We’re delighted the office is open to the public and are looking forward to inviting constituents in to help them in any way we can.”
Announcing the opening earlier this week, Lola McEvoy said: “The signs are up, so I’m thrilled to say that we’re now able to welcome constituents to our Darlington office on Blackwellgate.
“My team has been working from this office since last year, but we’ve had to hold meetings with constituents in various locations around the town as we waited for security to be installed. As I’m sure you understand, the security of our staff and any visitors is the top priority, so we’re really glad that’s now sorted.”
The planning error was first exposed by local Conservative party leader, councillor Jonathan Dulston. He said: “It appears that #LazyLola does not follow the process and failed to apply for planning permission for the installation of her new office sign.
“Will the Labour controlled planning committee just rubber stamp this and push it through retrospectively?”
 office in Darlington had its sign removed after no planning permission was applied for.){kind=link}