Spot-fine threat over fly-poster menace

Reporter: RICHARD HOOTON
Date online: 23 August 2010

OLDHAM Council is cracking down on fly-posters that become a blight across the borough.

The authority had issued an £80 fixed-penalty notice, reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days, to a firm for putting up posters at sites around Oldham.

Action was taken after complaints about posters for a car boot sale appeared on railings at Hills Stores and Cross Street, and at Mumps.

The signs were removed and the Ashton-based organiser of the event has agreed not to put up any more signs in the area.

Every year the council removes hundreds of illegal fly-posters from walls, fences, railings and bridges.

In some cases, they have been pasted over road signs, obscuring them from drivers and pedestrians.

There are three main types of fly-posting: advertising for local events such as pub gigs or car-boot sales; advertising products of large organisations that are put up by professional poster companies; and posters displayed by pressure groups or political bodies.

They are all illegal forms of advertising if they are displayed on a building without the owners’ consent.

Councils have a legal duty to remove fly-posting from public buildings. For private buildings, it is the property owner who has a responsibility.

It can be difficult and expensive to remove and every year costs council tax payers in the borough thousands of pounds.

The council says it is also unsightly and can leave a location looking like it has been left to fall into disrepair.

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for citizens and neighbourhoods, said: “Fly-posting is not just a borough problem but a national one.

“The posters are pasted up and then forgotten and because they are often poor quality they quickly become unkempt and untidy which reflects badly on an area.

“We will clear up illegal posters when they are reported to us but they are a drain on our resources — removing them ties up workers when they would be better deployed working on more worthwhile services.”

Fly-posting can be reported to the council on 0161-770 6644.