Fly Posting

Offences and penalties

Fly posters are simply advertisements that are displayed on highway land contrary to the Highways Act 1980, and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, or on private land contrary to the 1990 Act.

Offences

Fly posting is routinely dealt with under the Highways Act 1980, and the town and county Planning Act 1990.

• Section 132 of the Highways Act 1980, makes it an offence to paint or otherwise affix any picture, letter, sign or other mark upon a surface of the highway, or any structure or works on the highway. This makes it an offence to erect or affix fly posters, the only exemption being if the Council has given consent to display a recognised traffic sign under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
• Section 224 of the Town and County Planning Act 1990, make it an offence to display an advertisement contrary to the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. These Regulations make it a requirement to have planning permission in order to display any advert on private or public land, unless it is one of the few exemptions that has deemed consent. The owner or occupier of land on which the fly posters are displayed, or the person whose goods, trade, business or other concerns are advertised can be deemed to have displayed them.
• Section 19 of the Public Health Act 1925 makes it an offence to set up in any street, any name differently to the name the street has lawfully been given, or to place or affix any notice or advertisement within twelve inches of a name of a street.

Penalties

The penalties for fly posting have recently been increased, and offences under the Highways Act 1980, and Town and Country Planning Act 1990, now both attract a maximum penalty of £2,500 for each offence. Each fly poster that is displayed is classed as a separate offence, and under the 1990 Act, there is additional penalty of up to £100 for each day on which the offence continues. The maximum penalty upon conviction for offences under the Public Health Act 1925, is £200, and a further £1 on each day that the offence continues.

In addition, there have been recent cases where Councils have successfully obtained Antisocial Behaviour Orders or Injunctions against people that regularly fly post, or the benefactors. Such measures then include the possibility of imprisonment should they be breached.

Solihull Council has adopted powers under the section 43 of the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 to issue fixed penalty notices to people that fly post. First offences are now dealt with using this process, and fourteen days are given for the fixed penalty of £75 to be paid. This is reduced to £50 if the penalty is received within seven days. If payment is not received within fourteen days, the matter is referred to the Magistrates Court.