Circus and fair owners could soon find it easier to put up event posters in Wiltshire
Under new plans trusted groups will no longer need to reapply for permission to put up posters every year
Circus owners won’t be forced to jump through hoops to put up posters, under new rules being drawn up by Wiltshire Council.
Back in October Wiltshire councillor Allison Bucknell (Lyneham, Conservative) presented a motion to establish a Trusted Billposter Scheme.
The motion sought to ensure that named individuals and organisations would not be forced to apply for permission to erect posters year after year.
Her plea came after George Scarrott and Son’s Family Fun Fair, which has run an annual event in Royal Wootton Bassett since 1890, was threatened with legal action after putting up posters advertising its August fair.
The family-run firm was threatened with court action and a fine of £250 for each poster – after having displayed their events that way for 80 years.
Cllr Bucknell’s proposed scheme would allow trusted individuals and groups to put up posters without fear of prosecution.
Having been discussed by the full council and other committees, the matter finally came back before councillors again this month.
Cllr Bucknall told the Environment Select Committee that she had been speaking to an organiser of an annual village fair who’d been asking Wiltshire Council since January for permission to erect posters.
“We have volunteers trying to do the best for their community who are running up against all sorts of legislation, and this is why I brought the motion,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has seen an email recently sent by Wiltshire Council to Jay Miller’s Circus, which visits Chippenham and Melksham every year, stating: “Wiltshire Council do not allow any signs to be placed on the public highway for a commercial event.”
The council’s interim director of highways said new guidance had been drawn up and, provided event organisers stuck to the regulations, they could erect posters year after year without reapplying for permission.
“We want to move away from over-licensing and trying to put too many restrictions on events and event holders,” said David Bullock.
“We’re trying to take a lighter touch approach.”
However, Cllr Kevin Asplin (Amesbury East, Reform) sought assurance that circus and fairground posters would not be left up “for months and months afterwards.”
Cllr Martin Smith, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways, confirmed: “Any group that left their posters up for too long would lose the automatic right to put them up the following year.”