Council pledges to reduce illegal fly-posting

Members of the council's resources committee met on Wednesday night to approve guidelines for the use of five official banner sites and are keen to make sure that organisations use these rather than illegally putting advertisements onto railings and buildings. 

The five sites can be used by charities and community groups to promote educational or charitable events such as public parades and religious occasions free of charge. If an event is sponsored or people pay to enter, a fee of £100 for a four week period will be charged.  Events and promotions that are entirely commercial will be subject to a fee of £200 for the four weeks.

It is hoped that the offer of these sites will reduce an increasing fly-posting problem, but the council has also pledged a zero tolerance policy against those that do break the law and put banners up wherever they want.

Committee member Cllr Graham Lawman said: "We get a lot of complaints from people about the number of unlawful banners around the borough. As well as making the area look untidy they also go against planning regulations and can make roads unsafe if they affect traffic. We need to crack down on this and we're committed to taking action. The introduction of these official banner sites, which are available for anyone to use, puts us in a much stronger position to tackle organisations that use illegal advertising."  

The sites are at the main gateways to the town - on London Road, Northampton Road, Sywell Road, Harrowden Road and Finedon Road - and they can take one large or two smaller banners.  The sites will be offered to organisations on a first come first served basis, although charitable and community groups will take priority over commercial organisations. Guidelines on format, size and content as well as terms and conditions and booking forms are available from the council on 01933 229 777.