SCOTLAND'S largest local authority yesterday unveiled its latest weapon designed to stop the menace of illegal flyposting which costs thousands of pounds each year to clear up.
A pilot campaign will use poster drums to encourage clubs, pubs and other venues, to buy affordable, legitimate advertising space, in some of Glasgow's worst affected areas.
The scheme, set up by Glasgow City Council, will involve four drums being situated in Byres Road, Charing Cross and St George's Cross, where posters are illegally placed to attract the attention of the large student population.
Hanzala Malik, convener of the council's development and regeneration services committee, said: ''We'll be evaluating the success of the pilot and reporting back to committee.
''Obviously anything that helps reduce unsightly posters across hoardings, bus stops and other unsuitable and illegal sites in the city would be welcomed.''
Yesterday's decision to allow the trial follows an approach to the council by advertising companies, venue owners and club operators wishing to explore possibilities for lawfully advertising their events.
Last year, pub and nightclub owners feared that they could lose their licences because of illegal flypostering and lobbied council leaders to provide more legitimate poster sites.
Flyposting can carry a hefty fine and recently Glasgow City Council has reported venues whose names appear on illegally posted bills to the licensing board.
Warnings and sanctions, such as the scrapping of late entertainment licences, can then be handed down. Various city venues, including the Garage, the Tunnel, the Arches and Lettuce Holdings, owners of the Cube club, demanded more legal poster sites.
Glasgow already has a handful of such sites but critics said there were not enough to accommodate the number of events promoted in this way.
After yesterday's move by the council, the drum companies will manage the advertising space as well as take responsibility for removing illegally posted advertising within a 50- metre radius of the drums.
Rodger McConnell, director of development and regeneration services at the council, described how the trial project would work.
He said: ''At each location there would be an assessment of the scale of the problem prior to the drums being installed, a review of the management of the drums while they are in operation and a review of the extent to which the existence of the drums has led to a reduction in illegal flyposting.
''The results of the trial would be used to determine the council's longer term policy on street poster advertising.''
Flyposting can carry a fine of (pounds) 200 and last year the city's Carling Academy was warned by licensing chiefs for using illegal flyposting.
Similar drums to the ones in Glasgow are already being used to tackle flyposting in Edinburgh, Dundee and Cardiff.
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