Aled Richards, Corporate Director of Environment & Sustainable Transport at Newham Council, has made a decision to award a seven-year digital advertising contract for the council's street furniture to Clear Channel Limited UK. The decision was made under delegated authority from the Mayor and Cabinet, as per the report prepared for the meeting on 13 December 2024. The decision has been made to increase advertising income and will see the replacement of existing paper-based Council Information Panels with digital units across the borough.

Award of Digital Street Furniture Advertising Contract

The council is replacing the 16 Council Information Panels (CIPs) in its street furniture estate, with 62 new digital units. The existing 4 advertising columns in East Ham High Street will also be replaced. The contract to manage these will be awarded to Clear Channel UK Ltd. and will run for seven years with an optional three-year extension. The move is expected to generate £9.1m over ten years, significantly more than the current annual income of £25,000. The decision report identifies that this decision supports the council's Building a Fairer Newham Plan, specifically the council's commitment to Newham’s inclusive economy to support you in these hard times and Your neighbourhood.

The report claims:

Moving to digital screens replacing paper-based materials will reduce the carbon footprint for this activity by up to 82%.

The report states that:

The modernised digital units also offer benefits with smart city technology and the ability to measure footfall, air pollution and provide Wi-Fi.

Clear Channel UK Ltd. will own and maintain the new units, and will be responsible for securing the relevant planning permission and advertising consent.

Two bids were received in total, with JCDecaux being the unsuccessful bidder.