Brighton's Concorde 2 faces huge flyposting fines

12:40pm Monday 21st May 2012 in News By Rebecca Evans

The boss of a club that was crowned best live music venue in the country last year will appear in court in a fly-posting row.

Russell Haynes, who runs Concorde 2 in Madeira Drive, Brighton, is facing fines of thousands of pounds after being accused of allowing promoters to put up unlawful posters in the city.

He will appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court charged with breaching Town and Country Planning regulations.

It is part of a crackdown by town hall bosses on fly-posting in the city.

In April Brighton and Hove City Council wrote to every venue in the city reminding them about the regulations. The council warned venue owners they could be prosecuted if they fail to take down posters within 48 hours.

Venues face fines of £1,000 for every poster they are found guilty of being responsible for.

However, Mr Haynes said the only way he can guarantee there will be no posters is to not put on gigs.

He said weeks before he received a summons he had cancelled 15% of his diary including shows by The Wailers and De La Soul in a bid to control fly-posting.

The potential impact on his business is huge.

He said: “They put posters up illegally and I am liable to pay a £1,000 fine.

“I do not condone fly-posting but this is worse for me than the economic climate.

“It is getting harder and harder to get promoters to come to Brighton because they know they can’t promote their shows.

“The only way for me not to be fined is not to put on shows.”

He said despite social media, posters are still necessary to promote concerts.

The venue in Madeira Drive beat the Royal Albert Hall to the title of best live music venue in the country at the Music Week Awards last year.

Comments(16)

WakeUpYouFreaks! says...
2:02pm Mon 21 May 12

Nice advert Kentrob, but i don't think posting a link to one of several thousand websites/ apps that are all trying to do the same job badly is going to help anyone. Whilst i sympathise with Russell Haynes, i cannot help but wonder why he doesn't have any kind of contract in place with the independent promoters whereby they must sign an agreement on the use of flyers and posters. It is obviously mutually beneficial that the events taking place at the club are promoted as widely as possible, but if the promoters are flyposting then they should be the people that take responsibility. A legal declaration on the part of the club owner would then allow him to pass the promoter details on to the council. These could be transmitted to the promoters via email if not in person. Personally, if i booked an act through a promoter who was prepared to cost me £1000 per flyposted poster, then i'd have no problem in handing over their info and refusing to work with them again. Likewise, the poster distribution companies and independent promoters need to have an agreement with their street teams that means they don't get paid if posters and flyers are seen littering the streets. You give them out, you also pick them up if you see them on the floor - simple! Brighton has become a free for all postering zone again of late, and personally, as someone who also promotes gigs on occasion and keeps an eye on the club/ venue scene, i'm certain that the Concorde2 is not actually the worst offender.

Report this post »

wharrgarbl says...
2:24pm Mon 21 May 12

How are clubs meant to promote their nights if they can't poster? Online promotion does next to nothing unless you're night is getting a lot of rep and flyering is going completely out of fashion, as it were. What the city needs to do is have designated postering zones which are managed by the promotions community, without the overbearing hand of the council. As for posters and flyers littering the street, surely the council should just put some more bins in? Instead of doling out ridiculous fines to people just trying to make a living as a source of income.

Report this post »

The Real Phil says...
2:42pm Mon 21 May 12

If we had a go ahead city there could be e-posters (screens) which promoters could rent time on. As it is, we are not, gig goers are to be the ones to suffer (along with club owner)

Report this post »

StephenAdam says...
2:46pm Mon 21 May 12

This is another example of the greens putting in place yet more badly thought out heavy handed, draconian legislation. They have just had to back peddle on the £20 parking on the sea front which was one big blow to local businesses and now this. Brighton's economy relies on the great music scene down here with over 10,000 people coming down here every weekend and supporting local businesses. I run a night and rely on postering to promote my events which are already hard enough to break even on with the current economic climate. Many other cities have legal postering boards which promoters can use, why not build some of these to give us an alternative! If I continue to get squeezed like this then I'll have to quit putting on parties and everyone loses.

Report this post »

jimbobmaginty says...
3:01pm Mon 21 May 12

It’s a scam!
The club is successful and makes money so the government wants a way of extracting more money from them!

Report this post »

club girl says...
4:16pm Mon 21 May 12

Another council tax, same as parking, any way to squeeze people, i think the council want the clubs to put up posters so they can fine them, whats the alternative? clubbing and music scene is why so many people are attracted to Brighton, if that dies off the council will be sorry in the end. WAKE UP MONEY GRABBING COUNCIL.

Report this post »

Pobrien62 says...
4:42pm Mon 21 May 12

The club and live music scene in Brighton work very hard to, and are responsible in no small way for bringing much needed revenue into many businesses such as hotels, restaurants & taxis, and supporting all the staff who work at these venues. How is it this Council is prepared to fine Russell Haynes at Concorde 2 and hold him responsible for the actions of others ?
So if Russell Haynes can be held responsible for the actions of others and fined, does it not follow that the council should be fined too as it’s my understanding they own the building?

Use the money this action is costing to put up legal poster sites and stop squeezing the life from a struggling industry.

Report this post »

John Steed says...
5:49pm Mon 21 May 12

fly posting is fly posting irrespective of what is on the poster, it is a huge problem, no different to that caused by tarts and pimps plastering out phone boxes. any sensible venue owner would have a strict contract in place with promoters, in the uk unlike europe we do not have a history of public notice boards and columns maybe we should have, cheaper than e screens and also open to all, but till then no sympathy the laws are in place where long overdue and the time to complain was before they were enacted. meanwhile the same laws apply if you put up a lost moggie poster so to avoid a fine, dont lose your cat

Report this post »

anonymouse2012 says...
8:30pm Mon 21 May 12

How can the council get away with this?
The Concorde2 is just one of the many music venues in Brighton that make Brighton what it is, the UK's best city’s for live music.
We've just had the Great Escape and we're in the Brighton Fringe festival right now. I’ve noticed that there is some space giving to advertise shows
on some boards near the Pavilion Gardens, what a great idea… why don’t the Council provide free space for promoters to use like they do in France or Spain? These could also be recycling points as well as a space for promoters to sue for posters. Instead as usual it’s all about making money and at £1000 per poster that’s easy money, that about the cost of one of there tea & baskets meetings!!! Now we hear the Council is part funding that stupid eye360… what next £20 to park!?
Instead of making money from people who are helping make Brighton what it is, why don’t you give us break and provide promoters a place to advertise? And let’s not forget the Lady Boys & Circus that come to town and blitz the city with there posters, how come they don’t get fined? They turn up once a year rent a bit of ground from the Council and get away with it but the clubs & music venues that are here all year round get fined for poster advising! Take a look at the high streets, shop after shop is closing make some part of the city look rundown. I for one would rather see colourful posters with fun things to do than ‘to let’ and ‘closing down’ signs. By the way that ‘art skip’ in Bartholomew square cost £95000.

Report this post »

anonymouse2012 says...
8:31pm Mon 21 May 12

How can the council get away with this?
The Concorde2 is just one of the many music venues in Brighton that make Brighton what it is, the UK's best city’s for live music.
We've just had the Great Escape and we're in the Brighton Fringe festival right now. I’ve noticed that there is some space giving to advertise shows
on some boards near the Pavilion Gardens, what a great idea… why don’t the Council provide free space for promoters to use like they do in France or Spain? These could also be recycling points as well as a space for promoters to sue for posters. Instead as usual it’s all about making money and at £1000 per poster that’s easy money, that about the cost of one of there tea & baskets meetings!!! Now we hear the Council is part funding that stupid eye360… what next £20 to park!?
Instead of making money from people who are helping make Brighton what it is, why don’t you give us break and provide promoters a place to advertise? And let’s not forget the Lady Boys & Circus that come to town and blitz the city with there posters, how come they don’t get fined? They turn up once a year rent a bit of ground from the Council and get away with it but the clubs & music venues that are here all year round get fined for poster advising! Take a look at the high streets, shop after shop is closing make some part of the city look rundown. I for one would rather see colourful posters with fun things to do than ‘to let’ and ‘closing down’ signs. By the way that ‘art skip’ in Bartholomew square cost £95000.

Report this post »

hovian says...
10:38pm Mon 21 May 12

Pobrien62 wrote:
The club and live music scene in Brighton work very hard to, and are responsible in no small way for bringing much needed revenue into many businesses such as hotels, restaurants & taxis, and supporting all the staff who work at these venues. How is it this Council is prepared to fine Russell Haynes at Concorde 2 and hold him responsible for the actions of others ?
So if Russell Haynes can be held responsible for the actions of others and fined, does it not follow that the council should be fined too as it’s my understanding they own the building?

Use the money this action is costing to put up legal poster sites and stop squeezing the life from a struggling industry.
Event promoters pay Haynes for the use of his venue, and they then employ people to flypost so the club owner should be held responsible. By all means put up legal poster sites but currently the area between Waitrose and Holland Road along Western Road has become an unsightly eyesore with an epidemic of flyposting all over street furniture including lamposts, BT phone boxes, pillar boxes, rubbish bins etc. And the worst thing is these posters are never removed when the event is over - they are just left to accumulate and add to the general mess. The promoters are wasting their time and money as local residents have had enough and are now ripping down the posters as soon as they are pasted up.

Report this post »

Maxwell's Ghost says...
11:54pm Mon 21 May 12

I saw a young lad fly posting and caught up with him by following a trail from elm groce through town and he was brazenly slapping them on any solid object he could get near. he put them on windows, phone junction boxes, school signs, bins, lamp posts, pubs, traffic signs.
Stupidity has probably lead to prosecution.
I didn't think young folk read printed matter anymore.

Report this post »

OneOfTheLocals says...
3:11am Tue 22 May 12

Why can't promotors promote their shows in Brighton, Mr. Haynes? Do you mean that they can't promote their shows without having to pay for their advertising, the same as any other business has to? If you really need to put up posters then there are plenty of LEGAL poster sites - how do you think venues like the Theatre Royal have managed for decades? But of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch and the sites will have to be paid for and costed into the ticket prices - oh dear! I suspect that - like me - the majority of City dwellers wouldn't actually care if the Concorde 2 and similar venues never, ever held another concert if it means that we can prevent the town centre from slowly being turned into a slum. Being old-fashioned, I happen to like seeing post boxes covered in nothing but red paint. I also like to be be able to walk past the Brighton War Memorial without being disgusted by the bits of masking tape adorning it's railings. And if that means losing out on the vast financial benefits that these venues supposedly bring to Brighton & Hove - (could have fooled me!) - then that's a price that I am prepared to pay.
Well done Brighton and Hove City Council for finally taking this problem seriously - keep up the good work!

Report this post »

Maxwell's Ghost says...
7:56am Tue 22 May 12

Here's an idea, there's not a child or teen in this city who doesn't carry a guitar on their back do why not turn them into mobile fly posting sites.
Musical, moving sandwich board.

Report this post »

myzsound says...
5:04pm Tue 22 May 12

So it looks like the council need some money again, for something that is not really needed like the bike lane on the seafront, which in the summer, means no-one can walk along the seafront.. The Concorde and all the other venues in town need to advertise, brighton is all about the culture and music scene...i really an lost for words... i understand that the posters are getting put up in some places where they should not.... postering has been happening for years and only now do they decide to fine someone...why?

i'd like to know how many people, actually care if a run down shop has a poster in the window.

Its clear the council need income as parking on has gone up to £3 an hour on the seafront....

LONG LIVE THE CONCORDE 2..AND LONG LIVE THE BRIGHTON MUSIC SCENE.....

Report this post »

thomarsestew says...
7:41pm Thu 24 May 12

This is absolutely ludicrous! I take incredible offence to the person above saying Brighton would not mind if music venues never put on live shows again. As a young person in Brighton, with no youth clubs or anything to offer, venues such as the Concorde2 provide entertainment and a place to go. Who knows if I hadn't had gigs to go to what I'd be upto now! I'd also place a large bet on the fact that many people in Brighton are not aware of shows being put on, and without these types of advertising they'd never know. Venues are needed for the wider community, and advertising undoubtedly plays a huge part in getting people through the doors and therefore benefitting the community as a whole!

I am not suggesting for one minute that nothing needs to be done, but perhaps the council could sit down and discuss these issues with the people who have knowledge of the industry and the problems outlined by people on this board, instead of putting them in court!

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree