Graffiti and flyposting

Plymouth City Council is committed to stopping illegal flyposting and graffiti. We want to make the city a more attractive place to work, visit and live.

The problem

The problems caused by illegal flyposting and graffiti have radically increased over the last few years: most visibly blighting the city centre, North Hill and Mutley shopping areas. These enviro-crimes undermine the city's regeneration, increase fear of crime, deter visitors and tourists, cost a great deal to tackle/remove, increase insurance/security costs, and thereby reduce investment opportunities and the city's commercial attractiveness.

What's the solution?

All must play their part if this plan is to be effective and achieve lasting results, including retailers, entertainment venues/promoters, graffiti artists, companies/private businesses, utilities, Plymouth's university, colleges and schools, Plymouth City Council and other public bodies. You can be part of the solution:

Retailers

The Council is committed to providing a fast-track graffiti and flyposting removal service for shop owners/retailers. If you want graffiti or flyposting removed from your shop frontage, please contact us on the details above.

Note: The standard charge to remove graffiti within 7 days is £150 + VAT.

Entertainment venues/promoters

Is your company (or its promoters) breaking the law by flyposting? Please contact the relevant person in your venue/organisation. It is illegal under the provisions of planning legislation to fly-post on private property, and under the provisions of highways legislation to fly-post on structures, paving and street furniture, within the public highway. Advise them that Plymouth City Council takes illegal flyposting extremely seriously, and will prosecute those responsible. Ask what the venue is doing to stop/prevent illegal flyposting, and remove it from Plymouth's streets. Ask that the venue uses legal alternatives to promote its entertainment, such as local radio, magazines and leaflets. In addition, your venue could use the council's poster drums to display posters.

Note: The standard charge for using the five drums available in the city centre is £11.70 per week.

If you know a venue that continues to use flyposters, please contact us to advise the locations of the posters, so that we can collect evidence write to the offenders and if necessary to bring a prosecution.

Graffiti artists

Are you an illegal graffiti artist? If so, please stop!

Be aware that it could constitute criminal damage for which the property owner could take legal action against you. Contact or join Graffiti Art Groups/Networks that promote legal approaches to graffiti artwork. Identify suitable derelict buildings, and ask for the Council's assistance to obtain permissions to use redundant buildings and development site temporary hoardings for legal graffiti artwork/murals. Talk to other graffiti artists, and let them know of the alternatives to illegal graffiti. Advise the council of where illegal graffiti needs to be removed.

Companies

Has your company's premises or land been flyposted and/or attacked by graffiti? Contact the relevant person in your company/organisation, ask them what is being done to remove the flyposters.

Note: This is your company's responsibility by law under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992.

Plymouth City Council takes flyposting extremely seriously, and will prosecute companies that do not remove illegal flyposters from their premises. Advise the Council of where illegal flyposters/graffiti need to be removed.

Note: The standard charge to remove graffiti within 7 days is £150 + VAT.

Utilities

Does your company have a policy to cleanse its junction boxes of illegal flyposters? Contact the relevant person in your company/organisation. This is your company's responsibility by law under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. Ask whether the company works with the Council and other landowners to regularly cleanse its junction boxes of illegal flyposters/graffiti. Ask the company to consider covering all of its existing and new junction boxes with anti-flyposting/graffiti treatments (which make it difficult/impossible to stick posters or graffiti paint to them). Ask them to consider sponsoring anti-flyposting work.

Education

Are entertainment venues targeting your students using illegal flyposting? If so, contact the appropriate person, and ask that they:

• consider how to provide suitable sites for posters within the institution's premises or grounds
• arrange for the speedy removal of illegal flyposters from within the grounds of your school, college or university

The council will continue to work in partnership with others to tackle illegal flyposting and graffiti. To inform us of problem sites, please contact us on the details at the top of this page.

Report it

What we can do for you:

• aim to remove graffiti on property within 10 working days of it being reported
• aim to remove offensive graffiti within one hour of it being reported

Please report all incidents of graffiti as soon as noticed. If the graffiti is offensive, please indicate this at the time of reporting. To help us find the problem on street we need to know where to go, it is useful to use a landmark in the street so we can pinpoint the problem.

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