Middlesbrough Council’s Executive will meet on 8 April 2026 to decide on a new policy that would ban advertisements for high fat, salt and sugar foods, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and vapes from council-owned sites. If approved, the restrictions would apply to advertising space at bus shelters, lampposts, and roundabouts across the town.
The proposed move is part of an effort to improve public health in the area. Local data shows that childhood obesity is a significant concern in Middlesbrough, with about one in seven children registered as obese. This is one of the highest rates in England. In many of the town’s wards, more than 40 per cent of children are classified as overweight or obese by the time they finish primary school. The council has highlighted that these health challenges are often more prevalent in the town’s most deprived areas, with 12 out of 20 wards falling into the top category for deprivation in the country.
A study of bus shelters in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland found that over one-third of food advertisements displayed were considered less healthy and unsuitable for children. The council intends to follow the model of Transport for London, which introduced a similar ban in 2019. Research into that initiative found it led to a 7 per cent reduction in household purchases of unhealthy food and is predicted to save the national health service millions of pounds over the lifetime of the population by preventing cases of obesity and related diseases.
The town’s advertising space is currently managed under a contract with Clear Channel, which maintains 154 advertising bus shelters and 10 freestanding units at no direct cost to the council. Under the new policy, small businesses would be exempt from the advertising restrictions. Across the country, 21 other councils have already adopted similar measures with support from Sustain, an alliance focused on food and farming policies.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
