Government clamps down on illegal outdoor ads

by Ben Bold, Brand Republic 16-Mar-07, 14:40

LONDON - The government is clamping down on illegal outdoor ads that appear alongside motorways and main roads, with the launch of new regulations and a national database that keeps track of companies that have broken the law.

The measures were announced today by planning minister Yvette Cooper and give local planners the means to track repeat offenders using the national database.

The new regulations will come into force from April 6, under Control of Advertisements Regulations 2007 legislation. Councils will be given greater flexibility and power to prosecute advertisers that flout the law, dangerously distract drivers and blight the countryside.

The "unlawful advertisements and fly-posting database" will enable enforcement officers at local planning offices to input and extract details of prosecutions and formal cautions against companies and individuals who have unlawfully displayed ads. It will also carry information about those found guilty of fly-posting.

Cooper said: "Many of these illegal ads are not just a blight on the countryside, they are also downright dangerous. Local councils have got the power to act and I want to see more taking action so we don't simply see these trailer ads moving from one field to another across local council boundaries."

The Planning Advisory Service recently published a leaflet detailing case studies, called Blots on the Landscape.