Brent to charge for licenced leaflet distribution in designated streets

Brent Council is seeking approval for new powers to restrict the distribution of leaflets, flyers, free newspapers and other materials on Brent's streets ahead of the Olympics.

They see this as reducing litter and nuisance and state that  it does not include materials promoting charities or for religious or political purposes.  I can see that there may be problems of definition here.

There are three parts to the plans:

1. Designating particular areas or streets where it will apply
2. A licensing process with a list of charges
3. An enforcement system.

1. The proposed designated areas are:

Kilburn/Cricklewood – Kilburn High Road, Shoot-Up Hill, Cricklewood Broadway, Willesden Lane

Willesden/Harlesden – High Road (Willesden), Walm Lane, Craven Park Road, High Street (Harlesden), Dudden Hill Lane, Station Road (Harlesden).

Wembley – Bridge Road, Wembley Hill Road, Wembley Park Drive, Park Lane, Empire Way, South Way, Rutherford Way, Engineers Way, Olympic Way, Fulton Road, Brook Avenue, Great Central Way, First

Way, Fourth Way, Fifth Way, High Road, Harrow Road, St John’s Road, Lancelot Road, Ealing Road, Ecclestone Place, London Road, Dagmar Avenue, Linden Avenue, Mostyn Avenue

Kingsbury/Kenton/Edgware – Kenton Road, Kingsbury Road, Edgware Road

2. The licences will be subject to:

 

1. An application fee of £175 to cover administrative and part enforcement cost;
2. A £75 re-submission fee will be applied to cover administrative cost.
3. A discount of £25 will be applied to applicants that apply and pay online.
4. The discount is applicable to both applications and resubmissions
5. A fee for each distributor employed for each day of £75 except where the distribution takes place after 1800 hours or before 0800 hours where the fee will be £100 per distributor per day, or for Sundays and bank holidays where the fee will be £165 per distributor per day. 

The licence may be limited by:

 

1. Reference to the material to be distributed;
2. Reference to a particular period, or particular times or dates;
3. .Reference to any part of the designated area/road; or particular distribution

3. Enforcement

It will be a criminal offence to distribute materials in designated areas without a licence and material can be seized. The definition of distribution includes on vehicles and in telephone boxes. Fines will not exceed £2,500.  However it is unclear how, and by whom, this new law would be enforced and the alcohol ban enforcement problem is not a good precedent. 

The proposal will be discussed at the Council Executive on Monday.