It seems our graffiti campaign has attracted some attention, including a wag suggesting that I may be responsible for the explosion of tags in the area! Nice try.
Glenn and I continue to spot new tags appearing daily: keep up to date on the Campaign via our Facebook Group, and upload any tags you see to our Flickr site so we can make the authorities aware.
I was fascinated by the response of the Labour Lead Councillor for the Environment, Cllr Paul Gittings in the press article on our campaign this week:
“There is no let up in the battle and since the Big Clean Up Campaign the resources have stayed the same and we have dedicated teams who will remove graffiti all over Reading.
That's slightly at odds to what Council officers told me if you read this post. There are now fewer graffiti cleaning vehicles on the road in Reading, and as far as I'm aware the Crime Reduction Partnership (CDRP) is no longer contributing financially towards the Council's anti-graffiti effort.
Also, as I said before, the 'Big Clean Up Campaign' was strictly time limited - for one year only, which again casts doubt on Cllr Gitting's assertions that the BCUP is continuing in all but name.
I am also interested in Cllr Gitting's other claim in the Post article:
“If it is on private property then there is a charge, but if it is on the public highway we will remove it as swiftly as we can.”
This is factually not correct: the Council will remove some graffiti free of charge, but the problem is the area they do clean for free is limited to only 1 square metre. This means that with most tags on private property, the charge falls on residents.
This is particularly unfair at a time when money is tight. The Council and the Police must take some responsibility for the state of our streets: Council tax payers in Reading expect it.
This was brought home to me again by a constituent who emailed me this week:
"For the second time in two years my property has been attacked by vandals tagging a wall and two pillars. And for the second time in two years I have to pay the council for the removal of this damage.
Although I was assured that I would only have to pay for the cost of the materials involved I believe that £71.00 for 2 litres of paint and 4 litres of a cleaning chemical is absurd.
If this is what the council is paying for these products the buyer responsible should be questioned closely.
Both incidents were reported to the police as well as to the council and yet the area is still suffering from the blight of graffiti attacks.
In addition the shop fronts along the parade at the end of Addington Road are a disgrace and no attempt has been made to clean this area up.
Whilst this amount of graffiti remains on open view the mindless idiots who carry out this type of vandalism will assume that it is ok to continue to blight the area.
I know that this problem is dear to your heart it is a pity that it is not receiving the priority that it deserves."
I couldn't agree more which is why I have written to officers requesting a meeting to discuss what action the Police and Council, together, plan to take to halt this decline in our neighbourhoods.
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