How Brighton and Hove City Council will improve city's appearance

Brighton and Hove City councillors will discuss today how to deal with “persistent flyposters and bins left obstructing pavements”.

It wants to improve accessibility across the city by stopping bins and boxes blocking pavements which is in particular a problem for those with mobility issues, using a wheelchair or pushing a pram.

The council also wants to tackle illegal flyposting of stickers and posters on homes, lampposts and other street furniture without consent which it says costs thousands every year to remove.

• READ MORE: Fly-posted adverts to be removed after nightclub tips off the police

It has been running a consultation on both issues.

Councillor Jamie Lloyd, deputy chair of the environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “We need to cut down the number of bins and boxes left out longer than they need to be to make sure pavements are clear and accessible for everyone.

“People with disabilities or pushing buggies shouldn’t have to walk into the road because pavements are blocked by bins left out longer than they need to be.

“Taking actions against bins and boxes left out unnecessarily left out is also an important part of improving the look and feel of the city

File picture of bins not collected by CityClean for weeks in the Byway, Coldean (Image: Newsquest)

“We recognise it’s not possible everywhere and that will always be a consideration.

“However, there are many streets in the city where bins don’t need to be left out and removing them will make a great difference to the public realm, particularly in terms of accessibility.

“We’re also very keen to have a more effective way of tackling illegal flyposting and stickering. It’s not only a blight on the environment but very costly to clean up, especially at the rate it currently reappears.

“We know the bulk of the problem is illegal flyposting from companies, clubs and advertisers. Our aim in using the community protection warnings is to be better placed to tackle these repeat offenders more effectively.” 

The council wants to deal with flyposting around the city

For bins, the council will have a proposed three stage process which would begin with a visit from its environmental enforcement officers to a property that is reported as having a bin or box causing an obstruction.

Officers will also consider if there is space to store items elsewhere.

The council would write to residents asking them to move their bins and how this should be done between collections.

If the advice is ignored, a second warning letter would be sent, which could result in a fixed penalty notice being issued if the request is not followed.

Notices will only be issued where the first two stages have not resolved the problem.

The council wants to improve the 'look and feel' of the city

For flyposting, the council could introduce community protection warnings (CPW) and community protection notices (CPN) to help reduce the amount of flyposting and stickering around the city.

It said this will help it “tackle individuals and organisations and advertisers responsible for illegal flyposting, with the key focus on those who use it for commercial gain”.

If approved, the process will involve issuing a CPW to an individual, business or organisation suspected of causing the problem.

If the behaviour continues, a CPN will be issued and, if the person fails to stick to this, the council may take further action such as issuing a fixed penalty notice or court order.

For more information, visit the council website.