The Southwark Council has announced a brand new policy this Monday (13th November) to help battle vandalism following a surge of graffiti in local areas.

Starting this week, the council is offering a free of charge graffiti removal service for privately owned buildings in the Southwark borough. The council is targeting local hotspots starting with Peckham High Street in a ‘weeklong blitz’.

In addition to this, the council says they’re taking further measures such as collaborating with Safer Neighbourhoods Teams and British Transport Police and using CPN (Community Protection Notices) warnings. The Southwark council also mentions exploring community art initiatives including the use of public murals, a strategy that could deter vandals from graffiti to a legal approach.

Councillor and cabinet member for the climate emergency, clean air and streets James McAsh released a statement in which he says:

“Graffiti, not to be confused with public art, is a growing concern for residents and businesses across the borough.”

“Given the ongoing cost of living emergency, we understand many businesses are struggling to keep afloat and struggle to cover clean-up costs themselves. We’re here to help.”

“To get things started, our cleansing teams are out in Peckham this week clearing graffiti from storefronts and commercial buildings. We will target other known hotspots in the coming months and are also ramping up monitoring and enforcement. It’s also crucial that we work with partners to encourage public art while deterring vandalism.”

Although the cleaning service aims to help private residents and businesses, a number of conditions need to apply to in order for community members to receive it. Southwark council’s website states that the graffiti must face the public highway, be deemed offensive and not be situated higher than 2 meters off the ground. The council also requires written permission from the property owner in order for the works to take place.

Members of the Southwark Council are hoping that the new policy will help deter vandalism and promote positive change that will support local communities.