Shops, a petrol station and even a church have been told to clean up their act along Romford Road.

More than 300 properties on the route between Stratford and Ilford have been issued with notices by Newham Council’s planning enforcement team, giving them three months to make improvement.

The notices cover a range of breaches of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and instruct owners to take down oversized and excessive signage, remove canopy structures and poorly positioned satellite dishes and repair and repaint the front of the building.

Owners who fail to comply will be billed for any works the council carries out on their behalf and could face a fine of up to £20,000.

The notices were issued as part of the council’s linear gateway project, which aims to tidy up property frontages and improve the appearance of key roads in the borough.

Cllr Ken Clark, cabinet member for building communities, public affairs, regeneration and planning, said: “One of the biggest impacts on the borough’s appearance is the image people have along our key roads.

“We don’t want them greeted by run down buildings and pavements cluttered with advertising boards.

“The action we have taken along Romford Road shows that we are not going to sit idly and let these issues continue to damage people’s impression of the area.

“We are committed to making Newham an even cleaner and greener borough and this is just the start of our major drive to make improvements to our public realm to achieve this ambition.”

The project is set to be rolled out along Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate, next month.