The Environmental Services and Cleansing teams at Waveney District
Council work together to combat fly-posting, finding out who is
responsible and trying to get it removed.
Report fly-posting online
What is fly-posting?
Fly-posting is putting
up unauthorised posters and stickers (usually adverts) in public
places. Those involved in fly-posting are particularly drawn to
street furniture like lampposts and road signs. Hoardings, fences,
walls, bridges and other convenient flat surfaces also
suffer.
What do we do about it?
Council officers will attend the site within one working day. If
the notice is deemed as illegal fly-posting, it will be identified
as such with a sticker within one working day and removed within
five working days.
As well as removing fly posting, officers will attempt to identify
and take legal action against the people putting up the material
AND the businesses being advertised. Details of all instances are
recorded so, over a period of time, we can build up a database of
serial offenders and take appropriate action.
Businesses that use, or benefit from unlawful advertising can be
dealt with in two ways:
- The Highways Act 1980 makes it a criminal offence to display an
advertisement in contravention of regulations.
- Fly-posting is also an offence under the Town and Country
Planning Act 1990, which provides for fines of up to
£2,500.
Individuals who fly-post may be prosecuted for fly-posting OR
issued with a fixed penalty notices under the provisions of the
Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.
- The fixed penalty is set at £80.
- The maximum fine for individuals who fly-post is £1,000 for
each offence.
Removal of advertisements
Posters can be removed
from highways by the local authority without notice.
Defacement Removal Notices
Under certain circumstances, the Local Authority may serve a
defacement removal notice on bodies that are responsible for a
surface defaced by fly posting, requiring removal of the
fly-posting.
If the body does not comply with the notice within the time
specified, the local authority may carry out the work and reclaim
the costs.
Charges
There is no charge for this service,
though the Council will try to recover costs from those found
responsible.
Why is fly-posting a problem?
Fly posting
damages the appearance of our streets and public places. Areas
afflicted can appear to be neglected, which in turn, can discourage
others from taking a pride in their surroundings, leading to
further damage to the quality of our environment. Removal is
expensive and can cause damage to decorative or delicate surfaces
like paintwork.
Contact us
You can report fly-posting online or you can contact Environmental
Services:
Email:
Environment@waveney.gov.uk
Telephone: 01502 523117
Write: Town Hall, High Street, Lowestoft NR32
1HS.
You can request the removal of fly-posting by contacting the
Cleansing team:
Email:
operations@waveney.gov.uk
Telephone: 01502 523 468
In person: At any Waveney District Council local
office.
Consultation
If you have any ideas or
suggestions as to how we can improve our services or the
information we have provided, then we would be pleased to hear from
you. The contact information you require is detailed above.