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PRESS CUTTINGS

Hornsey Journal
Thursday 24th June 2004
FED-UP RESIDENTS' PAINT ATTACK ON ILLEGAL BILLBOARD- By Janine Kelso

An illegal billboard was defaced by residents using paint-bombs and water guns in a desperate bid to get rid of it.

Residents in Pert Close, Muswell Hill, were angry that the advertising billboard – which faced the North Circular road – had not been removed by Barnet Council.

The billboard, which advertised hair products, has since been removed.

Pert Close resident Sasha Hutchinson and Francis O’Neill also painted “This poster is illegal” on it.

Ms Hutchinson said: “The billboard was ugly and it blocked our view. We were so annoyed about it being put up that we defaced it so that it defeats its purpose.

“We loved defacing it. It was like being a child again. The paintbombs exploded all over us and we had to use paint-rollers on sticks to get the paint on, as the poster is so massive”.

In 2001, a billboard was put up illegally in the same place. It took residents a year of campaigning before it was removed by Barnet Council.

And residents were furious that another one was put up that was much bigger than before. Ms Hutchinson added: “The billboard was mammoth and we didn’t want to wait for another year before it was removed. More people should take action rather than being apathetic”.

A spokesman for Barnet Council said: “Advertisements of size 3.1m by 6.2m and larger require “express advertising consent”. The council has no record of consent being sought in this instance.

“If a hoarding is felt to be illegally placed, the council has two routes to remove it: prosecution through the Magistrates’ Court or seeking an injunction from a High Court judge requesting the power to remove it”.

Haringey Independent
Friday, March 26, 2004
CASE DROPPED AGAINST BILLBOARD CAMPAIGNERS

A case against three protestors accused of causing criminal damage to an advertising billboard in Finsbury park has been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Cordelia Molloy, Patricia Phillips and Jane Laporte were campaigning against the illegal erection of advertising hoardings, when they were arrested by police last October.

They were caught advertising a book fair on a hoarding in Green Lanes, at the junction of Endymion Road and handing out campaign leaflets to passers-by.

The CPS confirmed the case was dropped because there was not sufficient evidence to support a prosecution.

If the case had been proved Ms Molloy, 36, of petherton Road, Highbury, Ms Phillips, 38, of Terront Road, Tottenham and Ms Laporte, 32, of woodlands Park Road, Tottenham, could have faced prison sentences or hefty fines. Protestor Cordelia olloy said: “I am very happy the CPS has dropped the case but we have been treated badly. We are angry the police spent so much public money in arresting us and dragging us through the courts.

“Hoarding companies make huge profits but are continuing to flout the law by putting up these billboards without planning permission, which can damage the environment.”

A spokesperson for Haringey Council confirmed the hoarding in Green Lanes was put up without consent. The company, Maiden Outdoor, has been advised to take it down. She added the council was currently conducting a review of billboards in the borough, checking their history and permission status.

Companies will be required to prove the board was put up before 1990 or seek advertisement consent. Non compliers will have to take the boards down or pay the council to do it on their behalf.

The Haringey Advertiser
Wednesday March 31, 2004
FAIR PLAY?

Legal action dropped against women who used an “illegal” advertising board for their book fair - By Marianna Partasides.

A Group of women who were arrested for advertising a book fair had their case dramatically dropped just two days before they were due in court.

The four friends were putting up posters on a billboard in Green Lanes last October when two police vans full of officers arrived to arrest them.

The friends were charged with Criminal damage but, six months after they were first arrested, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case.

The women had claimed the huge advert site opposite Endymion Road in Haringey, leased to maiden Outdoor Advertising, was illegal.

One of the women, Cordelia Molloy, who lives off Green lanes, said “We wanted to let people know what was going on. We wanted to reclaim it as a community notice-board.

“People feel it damages the quality of life in the local environment, and many have written to get the companies to take then down.

“We had only been there 15 minutes when a police van screamed up onto the pavement. Then a few minutes later another one was there.

“About seven police officers arrested us. It just seemed so over the top for women doing a bit of fly-posting.”

The women had first claimed the billboard was illegal because it did not have the required planning consent.

Although it is not clear why the charges were dropped, Haringey Council has said there is no consent to advertise on the board. Cordelia said: “We all feel a lot of public money was wasted dragging us through the court for a case which was going to collapse anyway. “I’m angry companies make huge profits by fragrantly flouting the rules.”

Development director at Maiden, Helena Bouchez, said: “we have a contract with a smaller contractor who operates this particular site.

“If the council can demonstrate that it does not benefit from consent, then we will no longer operate the site.”

Tottenham Journal
Thursday 1st April 2004
“BOOK FAIR THREE” CHARGES DROPPED

A group of friends accused of vandalism for covering a billboard in posters advertising a book fair have had the case against them dropped.

Jane Laporte, 32, Pat Phillips, 34, and Cordelia Molloy, 36, were charged with criminal damage for using an advertising hoarding in Endymion Road, Haringey, to display their own posters.

The pals were due to appear at Tottenham magistrates’ Court last Tuesday following their arrest last October.

They could have been facing hefty fines and up to three months in prison, but the charges were dropped with 24 hours to spare.

The move followed the revelation by Haringey Council’s planning enforcement officer that the billboard, leased by Maiden Outdoor advertising Company, had been put up without permission.

Maiden had been expected to claim damages from the women, whose plight had attracted the support of Haringey Solidarity Group.

The group argued that Maiden should not be making money out of the illegal hoardings, but it took planning bosses months to establish whether or not the billboard was permitted.

A spokesperson for Haringey Solidarity Group said: “The victory of the community-spirited flyposters over the corporate cowboys will be a tonic for subvertisers everywhere.

“Billboards blight our surroundings whether they have planning permission or not. Perhaps eventually we can get rid of these unwanted structures from our streets altogether.”