Bristol City Council considers ban on adverts for junk food, polluting cars and gambling

Adverts for junk food, polluting cars and gambling could be banned on Bristol City Council billboards, bus shelters and digital screens under plans unveiled this week.

Civic chiefs warn it could put a dent in the £1m annual income the local authority receives but scrutiny councillors agreed it was a price worth paying.

The council has control over what is placed on about 180 bus shelters, 17 hoardings, social media channels and numerous screens at venues such as museums, libraries and customer service points across the city but has no formal rules in place to govern it.

Details of a draft policy on advertising and sponsorship outlining what should and should not be acceptable was revealed to oversight and scrutiny management board members on Monday, November 2.

The provisional banned list includes products already prohibited by law, such as tobacco, drugs, promotion of illegal acts and disparaging sections of society.

Adblock Bristol, pictured here, were part of the discussion. Photo: Tommy Chavannes and Carla Denyer

But it also has gambling, loan sharks and “foods that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar and targeted towards children within 100 meters of a school, at a family orientated venue or event and across public transport networks”.

Representatives from campaign group Adblock Bristol told the remote meeting that ads for SUVs and other polluting products should also be barred because they contradicted the One City climate strategy.

“This is an excellent step for the council to take because a lot of the advertising in our city undermines our council’s own objectives, whether that’s on climate change, air pollution, healthy eating, inequality and more,”  said Green councillor Carla Denyer during public forum

“I would like to see the policy go further.I’m very concerned that without really clear definitions of what kind of advertising is and isn’t acceptable then these are just going to be vague and nebulous aspirations and it will be impossible to prove or disprove they’ve been met.”

Carla Denyer is for the banning of adverts for junk food, polluting cars and gambling. Photo: Tommy Chavannes and Carla Denyer

Labour councillor Mark Brain said: “I welcome having a policy because it is something we have missed for years.

“Officers should take away these public forum statements and incorporate them as best they can because they’re in the spirit of this strategy and a positive contribution.”

Green councillor Stephen Clarke said: “We are all worried about climate change, air pollution and junk food, particularly around kids, and those need to be specifically included in the categories of items we should not be advertising on our own land.

“On the face of it £1m sounds like a lot of money but I would ask us to take a more holistic view. We might lose £100,000 or £200,000 on the advertising budget by sticking to our principles but if we look at the social impacts of advertising, we could well save a lot more than that. Let’s be more challenging, let’s show leadership.”

Lib Dem councillor Anthony Negus said he was concerned the Labour administration could veto an advert it did not agree with, such as a billboard by campaigners trying to save Jubilee Pool, because the banned list included “advocacy of, or opposition to, any party political purpose”.

Anthony Negus is concerned the Labour administration could veto an advert it did not agree with. Photo: Ellie Pipe

Policy, strategy and partnerships director Tim Borrett said the policy “erred on the side of vagueness” because a definitive list of banned products would inevitably create a loophole where some were accidentally omitted.

He said: “For everybody who feels we should be bolder, more restrictive and setting an example, there may well be other people worried about the nanny state and the council telling them what they can and cannot see.”

Borrett said he would take the suggestions back to senior officers and cabinet members. He said the policy, which would apply where the council paid for adverts and also as an owner of advertising sites, plus sponsorship deals, should be finalised by March 2021.

There are estimated to be more than 1,000 billboards across the “greater Bristol area”, according to website Bubble Outdoor, which means the vast majority would not be covered by the policy as they are in private ownership, although the council’s control of advertising space at bus shelters and digital screens gives it some clout.

Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.

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