Belfast City Council has vowed to up the battle against graffiti in the city.
At the latest monthly meeting of the full council, elected members agreed across the chamber on a DUP motion urging further investment and expansion to deal with the growing problem of graffiti in all parts of the city, but particularly in South Belfast where the phenomenon of tagging - where vandals spray their individual signature - has taken off.
In January and February police used social media to ask for the public's help in identifying tags used by the vandals. Botanic SDLP councillor Gary McKeown has raised the growing problem in South Belfast since the £5 million Stranmillis Embankment Bridge was opened last year and suffered immediate tagging.
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He said: “If you are walking through an area where things are covered in graffiti and where the upkeep has fallen by the wayside it can give a sense it's not the best area to be in.”
The Belfast council motion states: “With the growth of graffiti vandalism across the city, this council will consider investing in and expanding the in-house unit charged with tackling this problem.
“At present there is a team which deals primarily with sectarian, racist and homophobic graffiti. However there has been a noticeable growth in more general graffiti, which undermines efforts to keep our city clean.
“This is not a problem unique to Belfast but is one for which we should consider innovative solutions alongside traditional cleaning methods. The council will also work in an inter-agency capacity to address issues around unwanted graffiti across the city. In doing so, the council should consider how its team can be made available to other agencies on a commercial basis.”
Last summer Belfast City Council made a push against owners of Houses of Multiple Occupation on licensing regulations introduced in 2019, specifically on an article that gives landlords responsibility to remove any graffiti on external and boundary walls of their property within four weeks of its appearance.
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