South Tyneside ‘Urban art sites’ to be used in efforts to tackle graffiti

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Designated sites for graffiti artwork could be rolled out across South Tyneside under plans due to be considered by town hall bosses. Over the past year, the cross-party scrutiny panel has seen councillors take a deep dive into how graffiti is tackled across the borough. This included gathering information and evidence from council teams and partners such as the police, Nexus, South Tyneside Young People’s Parliament and community payback team, as well as considering best practice in neighbouring areas. An example of street-art style graffiti at Monkton | LDRS The commission defined graffiti as “drawings or writing done on a wall or structure in a public place without permission” and noted it was regarded as criminal damage. While acknowledging that some graffiti is “seen as a legitimate art form”, the scrutiny panel noted the majority of graffiti appearing on streets is “poor quality tagging”, which “defaces the public realm”. South Tyneside Council aims to remove offensive graffiti within 24 hours, and non-offensive graffiti within five days, with graffiti removal costing the council around £100,000 a year. Although the Our Place Scrutiny Committee agreed...