New anti graffiti campaign
Released: 8 March 2007
Wolverhampton City Council is waging war on graffiti – with the help of new high-tech cleaning equipment.
Graffiti is a blight on the city, making neighbourhoods look dirty, dangerous and unpleasant to live in.
Until now, graffiti has been appearing faster than the council has been able to clean it up - and the problem isn’t just affecting council buildings. Bus stops, telecom boxes, shops, garage doors, garden walls, subways and even vehicles are all targeted from time to time.
This can then lead to other problems such as fly-tipping, anti-social behaviour and even criminal activity which often follow once an area has been blighted by graffiti.
In order to tackle the problem, the council’s Environmental Services division, will be leading the 26-month programme of cleaning, anti-graffiti treatment and enforcement.
Councillor Pat Byrne, Cabinet Member for the Environmental, said: “The removal of graffiti will improve neighbourhoods, raise people’s perceptions of the city and enhance the quality of life for residents.
“The graffiti removal machine is a very worthwhile investment for the council and I urge members of the public to report any instances of graffiti in public places around the city, so that the council can put together a schedule for removal”, she added.
Citizens can report any instances of graffiti in public places by visiting the Graffiti, website, emailing City Direct or by calling 01902 551155.
Alternatively members of the public can pick up a response form, available at libraries and community centres across the city, and return them by post or fax.
Priority will be given to racist or offensive graffiti which will be removed as quickly as possible.
The new £15,000 graffiti-busting machine, has been purchased in an attempt to improve the speed in response and removal of incidents of graffiti. Operated by a team of two, the machine will be used to focus on the worst affected areas in the city, cleaning graffiti, fly-posting and chewing gum as it goes.
Where appropriate, the team will also over-paint and apply anti-graffiti coatings to make future cleaning far simpler and cheaper.
Issued by the press office.