AN ENRAGED Poynton Parish Council is calling on Macclesfield Borough Council to take drastic action on "virtual" pollution in the village.
The council say that posters and flyers which are continually plastered on village junction boxes are an eyesore, and are demanding the culprits are prosecuted.
They want the borough council to follow the example of other local authorities across Britain, who have slammed offenders with fines of up to £1,000.
And the council has appealed to the Director of Health and Public Safety to prosecute anyone displaying flyposters, under the Town and County Act of 1990.
This allows councils to prosecute anyone who benefits from advertisement, who will be given 48 hours to remove them or face the music.
The maximum fine is £1,000 for each flyposter.
The parish is particularly concerned about the latest outbreak of posters on the boxes, which advertise a nightclub in New Mills.
Chairman of Poynton Parish Council Planning Committee, Councillor Laurence Clarke, said: "Poynton has had a problem with flyposters for some time. This has become worse since Nynex (now NTL) installed junction boxes across the village some ten years ago.
"Flyposters are virtual pollution and spoil the appearance of the village.
"We are certainly not alone in this problem, and large towns and cities have far worse. However, a number of district councils have developed proactive policies to try and eliminate the problem. As one flyposter will tend to attract others a do-nothing policy will often lead to the problem becoming worse."
Councillors agreed at their last planning committee meeting to write to the Director of Health and Public Safety at Macclesfield Borough Council, asking her to take action under the Town and Country Planning Act.
They are also proposing to enter into a partnership with MBC to ensure speedy action is taken and want the borough council to insert "no flyposter" clauses in all future entertainment licences across the borough.
Chris Tomlinson, head of waste management, said that the Anti-social Behaviour Order Act which is currently going through parliament will hopefully make it much easier for the council to prosecute in the future.
He added: "In the past it has been difficult to identify who is to blame for putting up the posters because the owner of the venue will blame the band and vice versa. However, under the new legislation we can prosecute everyone who is involved with the flyposting.
"At the moment we cover the posters in blue paint or hide them behind huge council stickers. There has been a lot of work to do in Poynton but we hope the new legislation will improve the situation by the end of next year."
