A company running a country park at Newton on Derwent has been ordered to pay a total of £3,327 for illegally putting up signs advertising the site on road signs and signposts in the East Riding.

Quantum Park Homes Ltd, of Towthorpe, York, attached unauthorised signs showing the way to Oakwood Retreat Country Park, in Newton Upon Derwent, to road signs and signposts at nearby junctions on six occasions.
The firm was charged with six counts of fly-posting, erecting unauthorised signs on the highway.

Quantum Park Homes Ltd did not make pleas to the charges and a representative did not attend the hearing, held at Beverley Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 16 August.

In its absence, the firm was fined £350 for each of the six offences, totalling £2,100, and was ordered to pay costs of £387 and a victim surcharge £840, giving a total of £3,327.

The court heard streetscene enforcement officers from East Riding of Yorkshire Council found a number of signs advertising Oakwood Retreat Country Park attached to official road signs and signposts around Newton upon Derwent, Sutton upon Derwent and Wilberfoss in March and April this year.

Quantum Park Homes Ltd did not have permission to attach these signs and had previously received a fixed penalty for a similar offence.

Despite several requests from streetscene officers for the company to remove the signs themselves, the council received no contact.

Because of that, the officers had to remove the illegal signs themselves. Some of them were found to have damaged the official signposts and signs by the way they had been attached.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council reminds businesses and residents that placing signs on highways land without the council’s permission is a criminal offence under the Highways Act 1980.

Unauthorised advertising placed next to roads can cause an obstruction, nuisance or danger to motorists, and may even contribute to road accidents due to drivers being distracted.

The council can issue a £150 fixed penalty notice for each illegal sign or poster, or if a case is heard in court, anyone found guilty of fly-posting could be fined up to £2,500.

Advertising signs can be placed on private land with the agreement of the landowner but may be subject to planning restrictions. Advice can be given by the council’s planning department.