Commentary Part 6: Planning Chapter 5: Enforcement New sections 225C to 225E: Remedying persistent problems with unauthorised advertisements
326.New section 225C allows local planning authorities in England to take action against persistent fly-posting on ‘surfaces’. They may serve an action notice on the owner or occupier of the land where the surface is situated if their name and address are known or can be discovered. If not, they may fix the notice to the surface. The action notice requires the owner or occupier to take specified measures to prevent or reduce the frequency of the unauthorised advertisements. At least 27 days must be allowed for action to be taken. If action is not taken, the authority may take the specified action itself and recover its expenses from the owner or occupier. Expenses cannot be recovered if the surface is on, within the curtilage of, or forms part of the curtilage boundary of, a dwellinghouse.
327.There is a right of appeal to the magistrates’ court against a section 225C notice. However, in proceedings for cost recovery the applicant cannot raise any issue that they could have raised in an appeal against the notice.
328.New section 225E modifies the notice procedure for statutory undertakers. If a notice under new section 225C is served on a statutory undertaker, it can serve a counter-notice on the local planning authority specifying alternative measures which would have the same effect as the notice in dealing with fly-posting.
329.Subsection (2) of section 127 inserts new Chapters 4 and 5 into Part 8 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.