Distribution of free printed matter (Leaflets)

On 16 June 2011 the Council decided to designate land in the city under schedule 3A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. From 1 September 2011 it was made an offence to distribute free printed matter on this land without first obtaining consent from Oxford City Council.

The land that has been designated is regularly defaced due to litter from the distribution of free printed matter and this legislation has been adopted to tackle the problem.

Public notice (22kB PDF)
Map of land designated and designated streets (2.4MB PDF)

What is free printed matter?

To 'distribute' printed matter means to give it out to, or offer or make it available to, members of the public and includes placing it on or affixing it to vehicles, but does not include putting it inside a building or letter-box. In addition it does not include printed matter distributed on public service vehicles. Printed matter is 'free' if it is distributed without charge to the persons to whom it is distributed.

Examples of free printed matter include (this is not an exhaustive list):

• Leaflets
• Printed balloons
• Printed stickers
• Printed carrier bags
• Printed wristbands
• Printed T-shirts/clothing
• Printed Carrier Bags
• Printed Baseball Caps

Examples of activities that would be covered are given below:

• a promoter for a nightclub giving out flyers to passing members of the public promoting an event at a venue
• the owner of a shop giving out leaflets to passing members of the public promoting the sale of goods at their premises
• an estate agent who leaves a box of property newspapers on the street at the entrance to their premises
• a board left outside a college promoting a theatre production that has a pocket containing leaflets attached to it
• a pile of flyers left on top of a piece of street furniture or a window ledge for passing members of the public to pick up
• a promotional stand set up in the street from which free leaflets are available promoting tourist activities such as bus rides or walking tours
• a promoter placing leaflets under the windscreen wipers of parked cars in a park and ride car park

Exemptions

Any free printed matter distributed for charitable purposes as defined by the Charities Act 1993 where the printed matter relates to or is for the benefit of the charity, for political purposes or for the purpose of a religion or belief then a consent will not be required so as not to inhibit the right of expression enshrined in the Human Rights Act 1998.

Charities wishing to distribute free printed matter advertising their charity, an appeal or other related charity event do not require a consent.

A private venue such as a pub or club advertising an event from which some or all of the proceeds are for a charity will require a consent to distribute free printed matter.

How much does it cost for a consent?

The legislation allows the Council to recover the costs of implementing and running the scheme. Therefore the following charges apply in order to obtain a consent.

The price structure allows applicants to apply for multiple badges with each consent, allowing businesses to make one application and have several employees distributing leaflets.

Annual Consent:    £400 per badge
Monthly Consent:    £100 per badge
Replacement Badge:    £25 per badge

There is no limit on the number of badges an applicant can apply for.

Are their any time restrictions on the distribution of free printed matter?

There are no time restrictions associated with the consents and they can be used at any time throughout the duration of the consent. Officers will however take into account any nuisance caused by the distribution of free printed matter and may ask distributors to cease or move for a period of time due to congestion or litter problems associated with the distribution.

How can I apply for a consent?

You can apply for a consent and order badges by completing the application form below and sending it with your payment or proof of payment to:

Environmental Development
St Aldate's Chambers,
109 St Aldate's,
Oxford, OX1 1DS

Application Form (18kB PDF)

Payments can be made by cheque made out to Oxford City Council or by card. Card payments can be taken over the phone by calling 01865 249811. If you pay over the phone then a copy of the receipt must accompany the application form to verify payment.

The Council will be accepting applications from Monday 22 August 2011 in time for September 2011 consents.

Please note that any applications received without payment will not be processed.

Can I convert a monthly badge into an annual badge?

Oxford City Council recognises that it may not be commercially sensible for a business to purchase an annual consent if they are not sure how successful a leaflet campaign will be for their business.

For this reason you can convert a monthly consent into an annual one for an administration charge of £25 per badge plus the balance of £300 per badge.

If you wish to convert your existing monthly consent badge into an annual consent badge please complete the form below and send it with your payment or proof of payment to:

Environmental Development
St Aldate's Chambers,
109 St Aldate's,
Oxford, OX1 1DS

Conversion Application Form - Monthly to Annual Consent Badges (45kB PDF)

Consent Conditions

Each consent will have a number of conditions attached which the applicant will need to sign up to before receiving their consent.

Failure to comply with any of these conditions will result in the revocation of the consent and any associated badges plus the disqualification from applying for a new consent for a period of 1 year.

Consent Conditions (16kB PDF)

Design Guide

The consent conditions require specific messages to be on any leaflets distributed. All leaflets must include:

• The phrase - 'Littering is an offence. Dropping this [insert type of item] on the ground could result in a maximum fine of £2,500'.
• If the free printed matter is advertising a venue that sells alcohol then the message 'Enjoy Alcohol Responsibly' must be on the items.

The design on the leaflet must meet the Advertising Standards Authority Code of Practice. You can view the code of practice on the Committee of Advertising Practice website.

Successful Application

If your application is successful you will receive:

• a copy of your consent
• a copy of your consent conditions
• the consent badges you have ordered
• card holders and lanyards
• a template for the card holders log

You will receive an email to the address on your application form when your application has been processed with instructions on how you can collect your consent badges.

Enforcement

The consent conditions will be rigorously enforced by the Council. Any contraventions of the consent conditions may result in individual badges being revoked; full consents and any associated badges being revoked and or a ban from applying for further consents for a period of 1 year.

Officers also have the power to seize any printed matter being distributed without a consent.

Appeals

Oxford City Council reserves the right to refuse consent to any individual or business and will take any relevant previous convictions, warnings, revocations or refusals for the distribution of free printed matter into consideration before authorisation is given.

Any person aggrieved by a decision of Oxford City Council:

• to refuse consent,
• to impose any limitation or condition subject to which consent is given,
• to revoke consent (or to revoke it to any extent),

may appeal against the decision to a magistrates' court.

A magistrates' court may on an appeal:

• uphold any refusal of consent or require Oxford City Council to grant consent (without limitation or condition or subject to any limitation or condition);
• require Oxford City Council to revoke or vary any condition;
• uphold or quash revocation of consent (or uphold or quash revocation to any extent).

Page last reviewed 27 February 2012