From April 11th anyone wanting to hand out "free printed material" in the centre of Brighton will have to buy a licence from the council, be they Burger King, the Honey Club, Scientology, the Cowley Club or the Smash EDO campaign. Flyering without a licence will be subject to a fine of up to £2500. This mean-spirited and oppressive measure is supposedly aimed at keeping litter under control. http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1163284
Isn't that restricting freedom of the press? I mean if you can't hand out free printed material that is the most grass roots way of restricting the press.
I've since checked the small print and it doesn't apply to charities and religious or political material. Even so, it could easily make life difficult for community/activist groups whose activities aren't straightforwardly party political. Not to mention the clubs who seem to generate 90% of the flyers around town.
There are too many flyers in Brighton. You can't sit on a bench without seeing the peelings of a twenty year old flyer flapping about in the wind. Sometimes I wish I could live in Brighton. Even if I was homeless, I could literally sleep on a bed of flyers.
jhon, maybe the 3 people i saw sleeping on the seafront this morning would love to trade places with you however there arnt enough flyers to sleep on im voitng green next time, this city needs a revolution
