Posters for a local event

A village fete or a charity run needs people to hear about it. Most organisers put up a few posters around the area. In England, councils apply planning law and highways law to decide where those posters can go.

Ask the owner first

Whoever owns a wall, a fence or a shop window decides whether a poster goes on it. GOV.UK guidance says it is illegal to display any advertisement without first getting permission from the owner of the site, or from someone else entitled to give it.

That holds even for a poster that needs no consent from the council.

Posters for community events

England's advertisement rules give some posters an automatic permission, called deemed consent. One class covers posters for a local event of a religious, educational, cultural, political, social or recreational kind. It applies only when nobody is running the event for commercial purposes.

The government's guide for advertisers gives some examples. They include a church bazaar, a fete for a parent-teacher association and an amateur sports event.

The regulations set limits for each poster in this class:

• You keep it to 0.6 square metres or smaller.
• You put it up no earlier than 28 days before the event starts.
• You take it down within 14 days after the event ends.
• You leave it unlit.
• You keep every part of it within 4.6 metres of the ground, or 3.6 metres in an area of special control.

A council can restrict deemed consent in its area. Its planning team can tell you what applies where you live.

Lamp posts, trees and signposts

The highway authority looks after the street and what stands on it. Under the Highways Act 1980, a person who fixes a picture, letter or sign to a tree or structure on a highway without the authority's consent commits an offence.

The highway authority can also take the poster down, whether or not anyone is prosecuted.

When a poster has no consent

GOV.UK says it is a criminal offence to display an advertisement without consent. The local planning authority can bring a prosecution in the magistrates' court.

The council can also remove any advertisement it finds on display against the regulations.

A poster people can read

GOV.UK's guidance on accessible communication asks writers to use plain language and to avoid acronyms and jargon. It also asks them to keep the text as short as they can.

When space runs short, the same guidance suggests cutting the amount of text before making the letters smaller. The UK Association for Accessible Formats sets standards for clear and large print.

Useful links

• Advertisements: planning guidance (GOV.UK)
• Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers (GOV.UK)
• Advertisement regulations, Schedule 3: deemed consent (legislation.gov.uk)
• Highways Act 1980, section 132: unauthorised marks on highways (legislation.gov.uk)
• Find your local council (GOV.UK)
• Accessible communication formats (GOV.UK)
• UK Association for Accessible Formats (UKAAF)