Ayia Napa municipality has started removing illegal billboards from building facades and city streets, it emerged on Tuesday.

“We want to remove this visual pollution,” Mayor Yiannis Karousos said, “improve the Ayia Napa image and tidy up every corner of the municipality.”

“The city of Ayia Napa started two years ago to set up regulations for advertising signs which were approved by the Council of ministers,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

“The bigger they are, the higher the amount that you pay for the permit. So naturally people now use better smaller ones,” he added.

These permits are tied in with operating permits, which are payable every year.

“Some advertisements have been removed by individuals, restaurants and supermarkets, others are being removed in cooperation with the municipality. For example, at the roundabout at the entry of Ayia Napa there are no big signs anymore.”

Those who don’t apply for a permit are taken to court, Karousos said, and slowly the results are starting to show.

Advertisers are also encouraged to use signs that are more aesthetically pleasing, and according to the mayor, a lot of people don’t use plastic ones with lighting anymore.

In order to display any advertisements, one needs to obtain a license by the local municipal or community council. The eligibility criteria are set by each municipality.