Background
The national rules relating to the display of advertisements and signs are complicated - some advertisements are excluded from control, others can be displayed without the need for consent from the Council.
The unauthorised display of advertising material on buildings or street furniture without the consent of the owner is generally called 'fly posting'. Fly posting includes banners for local events, posters for car boot sales or local community activities, and posters displayed by pressure groups.
Advice
This interactive guide is designed to help explain the types of advertisements and banners that you can display without consent. If you are still not sure about the need to apply for consent to display your advertisement or banner, please contact us.
Action by the Council
Essex County Highways will remove, without notice unauthorised advertisements from the highway or attached to street furniture, on pavements, lamp columns, railings, etc.
For other unauthorised advertisements not on the highway the responsibility for control is with Rochford District Council. Where the owner can be identified we will generally give not less than two days' notice of our intention to remove such advertisements.
You can apply for express consent to display your advertisement by following the links on this page. There is a fee for processing your application (link in Related Content). If express consent is refused, you have the right of appeal against the Council's decision.
The Guide
The guide lists the various classes or types of advertisement which benefit from deemed consent.
Class 1: Advertisements used by public bodies
Advertisements needed by public bodies, including local authorities and government departments, providing information or directions about services.
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Rules
- Max size - 1.55 square metres
- Reasonable degree of illumination allowed.
Examples
- Noticeboard at a Council swimming pool
- Display of bye-laws at recreation ground
- Bus or rail timetables
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Class 2: Miscellaneous advertisements on any premises
Display of small notices and signs on premises or buildings.
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Class 2(A) - Notice on buildings or land to give warnings or directions
Rules
- Max size - 0.3 of a square metre
- No illumination
Examples
- Street number or house name
- Sign on field gate - 'please shut the gate'
- Private sign - 'no parking please'
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Class 2(B) - Notices for partnerships or companies
Rules
- Max size - 0.3 of a square metre
- Can be illuminated if medical supplies are available
Examples
- Name of doctor's surgery
- Name of company or partnership
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Class 2(C) - Various religious, educational signs etc.
Rules
- Max size - 1.2 square metres
- Can be illuminated if medical supplies are available
Examples
- Religions, educations, cultural, recreational, medical or similar institutions
- Hotel, inn, public house, block of flats, boarding kennel or hostel
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Class 3: Temporary advertisements
Notices and signs displayed to publicise a forthcoming event, or advertise a short term use of advertisement site. If any class 3 sign relates to a sale or event, it must not be displayed more than 28 days beforehand and must be recovered within 14 days.
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Class 3(A) - Boards for estate agents, surveyors etc
Rules
- Max size - industrial or commercial - 2 square metres or two bards together - 2.3 square metres
- Max size residential - 0.5 of a square metre or 0.6 of a square metre for two joined boards.
Examples
- Estate agents, auctioneers and valuers
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Class 3(B) - Goods or live stock sales
Rules
- Max size 1.2 square metres
- Displayed at a location of sale
Examples
- Sale of goods or livestock
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Class 3(C) - Firms carrying out building works
Rules
- Max size 2 square metres for one firm plus 0.4 of a square metre for each additional firm on same sign
- Max size if sign is more than 10 metres from highway is 3 square metres plus 0.6 of a square metre for additional firms.
Examples
- Building contractors, name of project
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Class 3(D) - Local events
Rules
- Max size - 0.6 of a square metre
Example
- Church bazaar, charity events, amateur sports event
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Class 3(E) - Agricultural demonstrations
Rules
- Max size 1.2 square metres aggregate
- No sign more than 0.4 of a square metre
Examples
- Demonstrations of agricultural methods
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Class 3(F) - Circuses or fairs
Rules
- Max size 0.6 of a square metre
- Restrictions on size of lettering and height of signs
- 14 days notification
Examples
- Travelling circuses and fairs
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Class 4: Illuminated Advertisements
Class 4 permits the display of advertisements with illuminated letters or characters on an unilluminated background or 'halo' illumination.
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Class 4
Rules
- Excludes moving features and animation
- Only one fascia panel and one projecting at right angles
- On a shop, must be on wall with shop window
- Must be at least 2.5 metres high
- Fascia panel no more than 0.25 metres from wall
- Projecting sign must not exceed 0.25 of a metre between sides
- Excludes any premises in a conservation area
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Class 4(A) - Retail parks
Rules
- Projecting sign must not exceed 1 square metre, project more than 1 metre from wall or be more than 1.5 metres high
- 'Halo' illumination on premises in a retail park, only on frontage overlooking communal car park
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Class 4(B) - Business premises
Rules
- Projecting sign must not exceed 0.75 of a square metre, project more than 1 metre from the wall exceed two-thirds of the width of pavement below, or be more than one-sixth of the frontage measured at the top of the advertisement.
- 'Halo' illumination on business premises
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Class 5: Advertisements on Business Premises
Class 5 relates to a wide variety of notices, signs and advertisements to draw attention to commercial services and goods for sale
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Rules
- Limitations on size of letters and characters used
- Highest part must not be above 4.6 metres above ground level
- Highest part must not be above the bottom of the first-floor window in the wall
- Must not be illuminated, unless illuminated relates to medial or similar services
- For a shop the advertisement must be in the wall with the shop window
- Only relates to adverts for the business operating from the premises
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Class 6: Advertisements on the Forecourts of Businesses
Class 6 allows the display of adverts on forecourts, including enclosing fences, walls or other structures.
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Rules
- Max 4.6 square metres on one forecourt
- Building with two forecourts can have advertisements not exceeding 9 square metres
- No illumination in any circumstances
- Only relates to adverts for the business operating form the premises
- The forecourt does not include the pavement in front of a business premises which forms part of the highway.
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Class 7: Flag Advertisements
Class 7 permits some flag advertisements to be displayed.
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Class 7(A) - Flag on roof of building
Rules
- Flag advertisement on one flagstaff, fixed upright on roof of a building
- No height limit
- Only display name, emblem or company name
- Not permitted to advertise products
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Class 7(B) - Flags at house building sites where houses remain for sale
Rules
- Flag on virtual flagstaff
- 10 house or less - one flag
- 1-100 hours - two flags
- More than 100 houses - three flags
- Max 4.6 metres high
- Not exceed 2 square metres
- Removed at end of one year after construction of last house
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Class 8: Hoardings around Temporary Construction Sites
Class 8 relates to the display of advertisements on hoardings at temporary construction sites.
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- Will provide some environmental benefits
- Must not be displayed more than three months before work starts
- Max 38 square metres in area
- Not more than 4.6 metres above ground level
- Details of advert sent to local planning authority at least 14 days before display
- May be illuminated in a reasonable manner
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Class 9: Advertisements on Purpose-designed Highway Structures
Class 9 enables a standard size poster panel (four-sheet) to be displayed on structures or objects on highway land with the Council's approval.
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- Bus shelters or information kiosks must be purpose designed for posters
- Max 2.16 square metres in area
- No illumination permitted
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Class 10: Signs for Neighbourhood Watch or Similar Schemes
Class 10 enables neighbourhood watch or signs of a CCTV surveillance scheme to be displayed on a rear highway land.
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- Applies to various watch schemes
- Max 0.2 of a square metre in area
- Not exceed 3.6 metres above ground level
- On highway land - highway authority's permission must be obtained
- 14 day notification given to local planning authority
- Removed in 14 days if police or highway authority withdraw consent
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Class 11: Directional Advertisement
Class 11 permits house builders to put up temporary direction signs.
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- Max 0.5 of a square metre in area
- Not exceed 4.6 metres above ground level
- Restrictions on size of lettering
- No reflective materials or illumination
- Must not look like a traffic sign
- Not on highway land or within 50 metres of a road sign
- Within two miles of a site
- 14 day notification given to local planning authority
- Sign removed when development is completed
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Class 12: Advertisements Displayed inside Buildings
Class 12 relates to advertisements that are displayed inside buildings.
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- Can be illuminated
- Advertisement is within 1 metre of a window through which it can be seen
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Class 13: Advertisements displayed for more than 10 years
Class 13 allows advertisements to be displayed on a site that has been used continually for the preceding 10 years for the display of advertisements.
Class 14: Advertisements Displayed after Expiry of Express Consent
Class 14 allows advertisements to be retained after express consent expires (usually five years) where the planning authority has not forbidden any further display or refused consent.
Class 15: Captive Balloon Advertisements
Class 15 relates to advertisements on tethered balloons.
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- Not more than 60 metres above ground
- Not displayed for more than 10 days in a calendar year
- Not in a conservation area
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Class 16: Advertisement on Telephone Kiosks
Class 16 relates to advertisements on the glazed surfaces of telephone kiosks.
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- Boxes designed by Giles Gilbert Scott excluded (K2 & K6)
- Not in a conservation area
- Illumination is not permitted
- No advertisement on more than one face of kiosk
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The Rules
The national rules relating to the display of advertisements is set out in:
- The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 - sections 224 and 225
- The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007
- The Highways Act 1980 - Section 132
- Communities and Local Government Circular 3/2007