Unhealthy food and drink ads to be banned on Havering Council property.

Local Democracy reporter Josh Mellor today writes:

On Wednesday (13th September), cabinet agreed a new advertising policy that will restrict any advertising that could “harm the health” of Havering residents.

The policy will no longer allow adverts that promote unhealthy foods, gambling, cosmetic surgery, alcohol, smoking or breastmilk substitutes.

The council hopes this will encourage residents to live healthier lives, with seven in ten adults in the borough being overweight or obese, significantly higher than the London average of 56%.

Havering’s director of public health Mark Ansell told cabinet that Transport for London (TfL) and several other local authorities have introduced similar policies.

The council says TfL has not seen a loss in revenue from taking a more “socially responsible approach” to its advertising policy.

Cabinet member for adult social care Gillian Ford said: “Some of the businesses that we identify as having the poor dietary offers, I don’t think there’s anything to stop them advertising the good dietary offers that they have made, you know, the salads that they’re producing and that type of thing, so we wouldn’t lose out on those options.”

Havering only makes about £50,000 per year from advertising but plans to soon introduce a tender for “small format advertising panels” at 61 sites that currently have posters.

A report on the new policy said: “The new contract will actively support a move to digital units and once completed the contractor will be able to update the units remotely.

“Via the procurement, we will also be able to assess the advantage of the widely used and latest LED digital boards and their impact on the environment including the latest dimming technology.

“Each new digital board installation will need planning consent and that will be the responsibility of the contractor.”

Support Local Journalism
We at The Havering Daily appreciate your support of quality journalism. Your generous donation, no matter the size, allows us to continue bringing unbiased and informative news to the community. Your contribution helps us maintain our independence and allows us to continue providing high-quality journalism. Thank you for valuing the work we do and for supporting our mission

Thank you

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.