West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) is considering the drastic step when it meets next week following complaints during the indepenence referendum.

According to a report, campaign material was nailed to trees, placed too close to polling stations, and rows broke out over accusations of tampering.

Now, councillors are being asked to support a ban on any campaign material being placed on council property including lighting columns, traffic sign poles or street furniture.

In her report, Angela Wilson, executive director of corporate services, says: “In recent years there has been an increase in the number of complaints received from members of the public about election campaign posters.” “Prohibiting the use of election materials such as this would lead to a reduction in the amount of paper, plastic and cardboard used by parties, leading to a reduction in the amount of litter over the course of an election campaign. It has also been suggested that the absence of such posters provides less of a distraction to motorists and pedestrians, potentially improving road safety.” Most of the issues reported were raised during the independence referendum in September when posters were posted too close to polling stations in breach of the rules.

There were also complaints that one campaign group was removing the other campaign’s posters or turning them to face away from the road in Dumbarton. The report also states that if the council agrees to the recommendations, campaigning materials on power poles or bus shelters situated on road verges or other areas owned or adopted by the council would not be permitted. This also includes buildings and parks regardless of whether they are owned, leased or adopted by the authority.

However, WDC tenants will still be able to display campaign posters in their homes and on their windows.

The report states the advantages of the policy would be beneficial both financially and environmentally: “There are costs associated with officer time spent dealing with complaints and additional staff and transport costs in relation to the removal of offending posters on the day of the poll which would reduce if the Council agrees to prohibit posters being displayed on council property.” The Greenspace Team reported that some posters were still fixed to lampposts one month after the referendum and consequently the election office had to have these removed.

“Allowing election posters on council property has an adverse impact on the council’s zero tolerance on fly posting, as members of the public often question why political parties can display posters on council property but others cannot.”