A concerted war has been declared on graffiti on Westside, with the BID’s street wardens playing a key role in the fight.
Westside wardens are adopting a ‘broken window syndrome’ approach to tackling the blight of graffiti, which is thought to cost thousands of pounds a year to remove.
If they come across any freshly sprayed areas while out on patrol, the wardens photograph it and report the sighting to a specialist contractor who then aims to remove the paint the same day it appears.
Peter Willis, the senior warden at Westside BID, said: “The graffiti that we find is predominantly in the Five Ways area, particularly in the subways of the island.
“We occasionally get it in Broad Street as well, but it’s a very busy area so they are more likely to be spotted.
“Graffiti has always been a problem, but we aim to get it repaired the same day.
“We look at is as the ‘broken window syndrome’ – if you leave one window damaged it just encourages the possibility of more windows being smashed.
“So as soon as we see one bit of graffiti, we try to get it covered to prevent other people from adding more.”
Peter said much of the graffiti they come across is ‘tagged’ by the perpetrator to identify it to others.
He explained: “Occasionally we get what you might call graffiti art. They particularly want their tags to be seen by other people so, by quickly covering it up, we discourage others.”
A significant part of the clean-up cost is because the contractor has to meticulously mix various paints in order to colour match the surface that has been spray painted.
Peter added: “In addition to the specialist contractor, we also have graffiti cleaning kits in the office so our wardens can clean up any minor graffiti themselves, such as you might find on lighting columns and bus stops.”
Mike Olley, Westside BID general manager, said: “It’s important that we identify and remove any unsightly graffiti so businesses and visitors can fully enjoy their time in the area.”
By Tony Collins.
