by political editor Paul Francis

Your village or town - and grass verges near where you live - could be sponsored under plans by Kent County Council to raise cash.

The scheme is an extension of an initiative to allow companies to advertise on roundabouts, which started in 2007 and already makes thousands of pounds for the authority.

But the proposal to allow sponsorship of more council-owned assets has already come under fire, with countryside campaign groups labelling it as tacky.

Critics have pointed out that the government recently announced that it wants councils to reduce the amount of clutter caused by signs in towns and villages.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles recently said councils needed to cut 'street clutter' to prevent towns becoming scrap yards rather than public places.

As well as roadside grass verges, KCC says the 38 boundary signs to the county will also be offered to commercial sponsors and that it is also considering allowing advertising inside and outside its libraries.

Cllr Roger Gough (Con), cabinet member for corporate services, said: "There is a revenue potential here which is not to be sniffed at and it will offer a platform for local businesses to advertise. Obviously, we will want to strike a sensible balance and we do have the power to veto anything we think might not be appropriate."

Sean Furey of the Kent branch of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) said: "This smacks of desperation. Sponsorship of grass verges is really scraping the barrel and the idea of having commercial branding on Kent's boundary signs is cheap and rather tacky, particularly given the importance of Kent's image as a popular tourist destination."

Cllr Gough rejected the charge, saying KCC was committed to reducing street clutter. "If you look at what we have done in places like Ashord's shared space scheme, we are sympathetic to the idea of reducing street clutter."

KCC is offering a four-year contract worth £536,000 to market and run its scheme to would-be advertisers and sponsors.

An advert for the contract says as many as 200 roundabouts will be available to sponsors, as well as border signs, grass verges and gateway signs to towns and villages.