FI15155
Request
1. Election posters have to be removed by a prescribed date. What action has DDC taken require the huge picture of the new Labour MP attached to the Labour party office be removed?
2. If the huge poster is not to be removed, what enforcement action has or will DDC take to have it removed or planning permission applied for/granted to allow it? Its size is so large, it requires planning permission.
Response
1. The requirement to remove election advertisements comes under Schedule 1 Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 which specifies that
Class E
An advertisement relating specifically to a pending Parliamentary or local government election or a referendum under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 – The advertisement shall be removed within 14 days after the close of poll or referendum to which it relates.
If it is not removed, Regulation 30 of the same Act specifies that:
a person displaying an advertisement in contravention of these Regulations shall be liable, on summary conviction of an offence under section 224(3) of the Act, to a fine of an amount not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale and, in the case of a continuing offence, one tenth of level 4 on the standard scale for each day during which the offence continues after conviction.
The Association of Electoral Administrators have confirmed that it would not be the responsibility of the local authority to remove any election advert on the basis of it passing the two-week deadline. In addition, the advertisement has been checked and it does not specifically refer to any election and does not appear to be covered by this legislation.
2. The Council does not hold this information as no assessment has been undertaken about any enforcement action as no complaint has been received. If you wish to make a complaint then this can be done via the Council's website at https://forms.dover.gov.uk/xfp/form/1417 or in writing to Planning Enforcement Team, Dover District Council, White Cliffs Business Park, Dover CT16 3PJ. The Council does not accept anonymous complaints.