Report fly-posting
Fly-posters usually advertise events with posters, stickers or bills. They put these up without the permission of the property owner or the Highways Authority.
Fly-posting is a criminal offence. You should report it us or the police.
We can deal with fly-posting on private property by:
- serving an enforcement notice on the person responsible for the property or the person known to be displaying the advert. This notice requires them to remove the adverts and failure to comply is an offence.
- removing or blanking out unauthorised placards and posters without giving prior notice
The police have powers to confiscate the equipment used by fly-posters, including their vehicles.
You can report instances of fly-posting to us using our online form.
To complete the form you will need to tell us:
- your name, address and contact details
- where the fly-posting is
- the date and time you saw the fly-posting
- Adverts which are not fly-posting
Some adverts, posters and notices are not fly-posts including:
- temporary signs for charity or community events on private land. You can put these up (not on the highway or verges) for up to 28 days before an event. You must take them down within 14 days of the event taking place
- some posters which have deemed consent, but you must still comply with basic requirements
- commercial signs and posters need planning permission wherever you put them up. The event organisers can apply for the permission, it doesn't have to be the landowner
- election posters are exempt, as long as they don't break any other rules, such as defamation, distraction to motorists, obscure traffic signage
Our Street Cleaning team staff routinely remove unauthorised fly-posters.
Our Planning Enforcement team carry investigations and enforcement of unauthorised advertisements.