Brighton Society says graffiti has increased in pandemic

The Brighton Society, which focuses on social and aesthetic concerns and town planning in the city, says cases of graffiti tagging have accelerated during the coronavirus crisis and the lockdown.

The society has photographed new graffiti tags which have appeared on city centre buildings including the Brighton Dome and on bus shelters in the Old Steine opposite the Royal Pavilion.

Graffiti on bus shelters in the Old Steine

A spokesman for the society said: “It’s the volume of graffiti which is shocking.

"We have shelters along Marine Parade which have been really heavily attacked.

“The council should have acted quickly to clean them up as it is council property and a showcase for the city.

"Visitors walk along there to get to the seafront and that’s what they see.

“It’s the same for people driving in to Brighton along Viaduct Road and Beaconsfield Road. Cars are flowing down these streets and they have time to see the mess while they’re in traffic.

"It’s appalling.”

The Brighton Society has been monitoring graffiti cases and hosting virtual meetings with resident associations to come up with a plan to tackle the problem.

The spokesman added: “We want to work with the council to eradicate as much graffiti as possible. There are some positives in the council’s Graffiti Reduction Strategy but also failings.

A shelter in Marine Parade

“If your wall is attacked by tagging, the council’s advice is you should paint your own mural there.

“I don’t know about you but I’m not a painter. We’ve been asking them to modify this as it does not make sense.”

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “We’re deeply saddened by the repeated problems with graffiti on the seafront.

“Far from ignoring it, we had contractors in only very recently to remove it all.

“However, it was then re-tagged again very quickly.We are aware of this and have scheduled removal work but this can be weather dependent.

Graffiti on a wall of Brighton Dome

“Our environmental enforcement officers can issue £150 fixed penalty notices if vandals are caught in the act.

“We have also recently set up a graffiti hotline – 01273 295063 – where residents can report graffiti in action to increase the chances of officers catching them.

“The council is only responsible for removing graffiti if it is offensive, or on public property. However, our next environment committee is due to consider whether we can adopt powers to enforce private property owners to remove problematic graffiti in the future as well.”