Fly-Posting

Fly-posting/adverts

What is fly-posting?

This is the display of advertising material on buildings and street furniture without the consent of the owner, contrary to the provisions of the regulations.

Under section 224 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 it is an offence for any person to display an advertisement in contravention of the regulations. The relevant legislation is contained in the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. Any person contravening the legislation is liable on summary conviction to a fine, currently not exceeding £2500. This was recently increased under the provision of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. In the case of a continuing offence there is £250 for each day on which the offence continues after conviction.

Under section 132 of the Highway Act 1980 it is an offence for any person to paint or in anyway inscribe or affix any picture, letter, or sign on the surface of a Highway, any tree, or structure without consent of the Highway Authority. If guilty of an offence the person can be liable to a fine of up to £1000, in the case of a second offence up to £2500.

Fly-posting is an anti-social activity that creates a negative impression of an area. We have the power to remove items attached to the highway- trees; bridges, lamp posts, road signs and other street furniture. Fly posting is an offence and we will pursue and take action against fly-posters by issuing a fixed penalty notice or prosecution see our FPN page.

In addition, the businesses involved are gaining an unfair advantage over law abiding businesses by not paying for advertising space. For those persons wishing to advertise events you should ensure any advertising complies with this guidance on Gov.UK

You can help by:

reporting any fly-posting by using our online forms or you can call us on 0115 981 9911.

Charitable/community events

Although the organisers of some charitable or community events choose to advertise on the public highway, this is contrary to the Highways Act 1980. Adverts on the public highway, be they on lamp columns, traffic signs or signals, trees or pedestrian barriers, highway verges, can pose a danger to both pedestrians and motorists, and they also make an area look untidy and create an eyesore.

However, we will not generally take any action to remove charitable fly posting or prosecute the organisers. A charitable event may be for religious, educational, cultural, political, social or recreational purposes. Any event must be for purely charitable purposes and cannot be for any commercial purpose. We require that organisers observe the following conditions:

Adverts should only be affixed to lamp columns, and not to traffic signs, traffic signals, trees or pedestrian barriers. They should not be on telegraph poles, bus stops or utilities boxes.
Adverts should not be placed within 5m of a traffic junction.
The method of affixing the advert must not damage the lamp column in any way.
Adverts should not be affixed earlier than seven days before the event, and removed within 24 hours after then event.
All fixings must be removed when the advert is removed.
Thought should be given to the size, design and number of adverts. Large banners will not be acceptable. Typically no more than A4 in size and a minimal number sited local to the event.
The adverts should state the name of the charity that is benefiting from the event. Also include charity registration number where available.
Please note that we may remove and confiscate any adverts that do not observe these conditions, or pose a danger, are offensive, or too numerous.
The event must be purely for charitable reasons and not have a commercial element or be solely commercial.

Advertising any local event should be undertaken in a variety of methods including social media and local publications and not rely on the public posting of such events.

Do it online

Documents to download

Useful links

Enviro-crime