Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

THE writing is on the wall for vandals who deface buildings across Charnwood with graffiti.

Charnwood Borough Council is cracking down on people who plaster slogans or paintings on public and private properties as part of its 100-day Cleaner, Greener campaign.

Graffiti is described as any informal or illegal marks, drawings or paintings that have been deliberately made outdoors and that can lead to a decline of an area.

Anyone caught spraying graffiti faces the prospect of an £80 fine for a minor offence – or the possibility of a maximum 10 years imprisonment if the value of damage exceeds £5,000.

Cllr Sandie Gough, Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Environment, said: “Some people consider graffiti to be art but when it’s in the outdoor environment, it’s clearly not.

“It can contribute to people’s fear of crime, devalues property and can lead to the decline of an area and a lack of respect for the place in which people live, work and play.

“Graffiti can be costly to remove and I would urge people to report incidents to us so we can clean it up and make the Borough a brighter looking place.”

To clear graffiti, a specialist team cover the marks with a high-strength paint stripper before washing it off with extremely hot water.

A total of 89 per cent of local Authorities have a problem with graffiti and it is estimated to cost £1billion a year to clean up across the UK.

Cleaning up graffiti is a key part of Charnwood’s campaign to create a Cleaner, Greener Borough, which has three clear messages.

It aims to inform people by raising public awareness of what the Clean Neighbourhood & Environment Act involves and how it affects them and their neighbourhoods.

It will also assist people to understand and prepare for the Act to come into full use and, finally, it will enforce through prosecution or on the spot fines (Fixed Penalty Notices) for enviro-crimes.

To report an instance of enviro-crime, such as abandoned vehicles, fly-tipping, graffiti, litter, dog fouling and grot spots or issues of street cleansing, call the Charnwood Borough Council’s dedicated hotline number on (01509) 634 563 or log onto www.charnwood.gov.uk and fill in the online forms.

The 100-day campaign was launched in September and runs until January 2, 2007 – and the Street Wardens are now patrolling the streets of Charnwood.