Magistrates charge company guilty of fly posting £5,400
A local company illegally putting up posters in and around York has been found guilty by York Magistrate’s Court and ordered to pay £5,421.
Between July and October 2024, a large number of posters appeared in and around York and were reported to City of York Council. The notices were A1 (roughly 60 x 84centimetres), had been put up without permission and were advertising Oakwood Resorts Ltd based at Newton on Derwent.
The company had not sought or been given permission by the council to display these posters, which were found on council-owned lamp posts and traffic lights.
Warning letters were sent to the company and, when it failed to respond, the company was given ten fixed penalty notices. None were acknowledged or paid.
Following an investigation of the company’s promotional activities, Oakwood Resorts was prosecuted at York Magistrate’s Court on Friday 7 March 2025.
No-one from the company attended court, no plea was submitted and it was found guilty in its absence of fly posting.
The Magistrate issued a fine of £2,500, a surcharge of £1,000 and costs of £1,921 – a total of £5,421.
Cllr Michael Pavlovic, Executive Member for Safer Communities at City of York Council, said: “Putting up adverts on council property without permission is a criminal offence. It risks obscuring important information, blocking road users’ sight lines, damaging council property and cleaning it up diverts council resources.
“To find out how to legally put up posters, please click here, and to report flyposting, please visit www.york.gov.uk/Flyposting.”