A LONG-STANDING feud between a heritage society and an oat drink company over the placement of adverts in the city has entered its third round.

Oatly banners attached to Victorian lampposts along Brighton seafront will be removed as the brand did not gain consent from the city council before installing them.

The issue was raised by The Brighton Society, an organisation which “aims to conserve and improve the amenities of Brighton and Hove” through the “preservation of architecturally and historically interesting buildings”.

In a post on social media, the group claimed the ads were “unauthorised” and urged Brighton and Hove City Council to remove them.

Oatly responded, with a spokesman for the brand saying: “We gave the council the opportunity to review and clarify the process for this kind of branded media, given the conservation status (of the area the adverts were placed within).

“They’ve assured us all correct procedures were followed, and also confirmed lamppost sites don’t require pre-approval from the council on specific brands or artwork.”

The Argus:

The company did not respond to The Argus’s request for further comment.

But, when we asked the council if permission had been gained for the lamppost adverts, a spokeswoman said that the banners had not been cleared with the authority.

She said: “The Oatly advertisements are commercial adverts which cannot be displayed at these sites without express Advertisement Consent.

“These signs do not have consent and were due to be removed by the end of the weekend.

“We are working with media agencies who deal with some of these sites to ensure that advertisements have the correct consent in future.”

This is not the first time The Brighton Society and Oatly have clashed.

In November last year, the heritage group raised concerns over one of the oat drink company’s adverts which had been painted on a wall at the corner of Church Street and Gardner Street in Brighton.

The Argus:

Brighton and Hove City Council said no permission had been given for the large mural, and ordered that it was removed by December 16.

A second bout between The Brighton Society and Oatly followed in January this year.

The organisation claimed the milk brand had unlawfully unfurled a huge banner on the front of St Peter’s Church in Brighton.

In this case, the council said that no rules or regulations had been breached in the display of the advert.

The Argus:

A Brighton Society spokesman said: “The Brighton Society at the end of 2019 informed the council of the unauthorised Oatly mural advert that appeared on the wall of Gelato Gusto without permission.

“It took over three weeks for it to be removed.

“The banners advertising Oatly products, which are fixed to the Victorian lampposts along King’s Road from the Queens Hotel to The Grand hotel, have not been authorised.

“We understand that the banners will be removed.”