'Scourge of graffiti' continues to blight Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough

While a motion on promoting street art was being debated at the latest ABC Council meeting, Councillor Kyle Moutray pointed out graffiti remained a scourge.

The DUP representative said he agred with the principle of a street art project being investigated.

"I want to say from the outset that I don’t disagree with the principle of the motion. I can certainly see the upsides and they’ve been outlined very well.

“I can see the value in celebrating local heritage. That’s a good thing. It improves the aesthetics of town centres, and that’s good.

“I think it’s always good in this chamber that we debate creative ideas and think a little outside the box when it comes to town centres and villages. I think we need to see more of that.

“It’s good that this motion acknowledges the scourge of graffiti in the borough, and that’s something I’ve talked about before. As we discuss this motion, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that element of it.

“Back in 2024, I brought a motion to this council on addressing the scourge of graffiti across our borough.

“At that time, a council survey identified that there were over 250 of these tags across Portadown, Craigavon and Lurgan alone. That shows the scale of the problem.

“The majority of these were on utility boxes and DfI road signs, and unfortunately neither DfI nor the telecommunications companies that own these utility boxes are really forthcoming when it comes to cleaning them.

“Two years on from that motion, I have to say I’ve not seen any real noticeable improvement, and it continues to be one of the top problems that constituents bring to me.

“Certainly, in Portadown, graffiti is only removed when done so by private landowners, by the PCSP whenever it’s deemed offensive, or by community-led initiatives.

“A really good example of this was back in July of this year, when Portadown Youth Providers Forum came together to remove graffiti at the Bann Bridge in Portadown.

“This is an area of natural beauty. It had been blighted with graffiti for a long time. They came together and made a great improvement to the area. Then I visited a month later and it was back to square one, with graffiti everywhere again, unfortunately.

“That shows the problem at hand there. When the motion was originally considered, a number of options were discussed. One of those was the possibility of engaging with the Probation Board.

“I don’t think I’ve really seen any evidence of that, and I think it’s still something that should be considered because graffiti continues to be an issue throughout the borough.

“So, yes, I welcome the idea of positive street art. I think it’s a good idea. But I would like to see the same level of ambition applied when it comes to removing graffiti across the borough and cleaning up our town centres.

“When I speak to ratepayers, that is something they raise with me on a daily basis. They want cleaner towns and villages. They want graffiti removed, and they want the council to take meaningful action when it comes to those who take part in graffiti and those who take part in fly-tipping and things like that.

So yes, I’m happy to support the motion. I just wanted to give that background with regards to graffiti. I think it’s important that we include that element and don’t lose sight of it within this conversation.”

As proposer of the motion on street art, Councillor Jessica Johnston was delighted to see that her motion had enjoyed unanimous support. She was given an opportunity to conclude the debate.

The Alliance representative commented: “Thank you to members for their contributions to the motion this evening. They’re all very valid points and I think they’ll all be worked through via committee or workshops, whichever is needed, with council officers.

“I completely agree with Cllr Moutray’s points on graffiti removal. That is important. The sentiment of the motion is to try and find practical solutions to graffiti, and hopefully we can work through that.

“I know from conversations with community groups in my own DEA that they’d be keen to see a scheme like this set up and have indeed looked into ways that they might be able to do it themselves.

“Having that council support in leading the scheme from the front is vital for them. I appreciate it might not be replicated across all our towns and villages, but I’m sure there would be a fair few that would [be interested].

“I look forward to seeing the development of this scheme.”