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65
Advertising Stations (Bating Act).—By this
Act, passed in the Session of 1889, the Vestry
is empowered to rate land temporarily or permanently
used for advertisements, and not otherwise
occupied, according to the value of such use.
The Act also provides for the rating of occupied
hereditaments used for advertisements, such as the
blank walls of houses and such like, where the
rateable value is to be increased by the value of
such use.
The Act also deals with the ordinary temporary
hoardings for which licenses are granted by the
Vestry. The Vestry may either prohibit the
affixing of advertisements, or sanction same on payment
of a sum to be determined by them.
The Vestry partially anticipated this enactment
some years ago by adopting a new method of
charging for the hoarding license; whereas formerly
a fee of 2s. 6d. per month was charged, it is now 2s.
per hundred square feet per month. This was
adopted to put a check on the undue prolongation
of the time during which hoardings have been kept
up for the express purpose of the advertisement
revenue, and it has undoubtedly brought in a considerable
sum of money to the Parish. In some
cases, however, where the hoarding, and the consequent
fee, have been very large, the fee has been
reduced to £10, the Vestry acting under the decision
in the case of the Post Office in St. Martin's-leGrand.
It would seem, however, that this
restriction need no longer be acted upon, and it
would appear reasonable to continue some such
scale as that hitherto adopted.
The Vestry have suggested that a Conference
of the rating authorities of the Holborn Union and
of the Union Assessment Committee be convened