Portslade business owner hit out at council's graffiti policy

The initiative, currently being enforced in the Church Road, George Street and Boundary Road areas of Hove, gives shop owners a date by which they are “legally obliged” to remove graffiti from their property or face being fined.

Oliver Crawley, who co-owns Blend Coffee Co in Station Road, Portslade, near the Boundary Road “action zone”, said his business was visited by “passive-aggressive” enforcement officers who threatened to fine the company if graffiti was not removed from their shopfront within 28 days.

Mr Crawley's business, Blend Coffee Co, was visited by enforcement officers after the shop was vandalised with graffiti (Image: Blend Coffee Co)

He said no businesses were consulted on the policy and that it demands business owners to pay for the vandals' criminal damage.

Mr Crawley said: “We got a visit from enforcement officers saying we have to remove the graffiti otherwise we would be fined.

“No businesses have been spoken to about it and we’re effectively being penalised and having to foot the bill for criminal damage.

“It’s an added cost we don’t need right now, but it’s also the cost in terms of the time it takes to clean it. We’ve got a roller shutter at our cafe, so cleaning it can’t be done during working hours.

“It’s just ridiculous.”

Coffee shop owner Oliver Crawley said other businesses in the area are 'very angry' about the council's initiative (Image: Blend Coffee Co)

He said other businesses have considered closing their doors for good as a result of the scheme.

“I know there’s a lot of very angry business owners in the area, to the point that some are even contemplating that they can’t continue trading if this continues to be implemented,” Mr Crawley said.

The initiative is set to be expanded over the next month to cover Preston Street and Middle Street.

Conservative councillor for Wish ward Robert Nemeth slammed the council’s approach and said: “It’s quite outrageous that victims of crime are being treated in such a manner.

“If the council’s plan is to work, traders need to be won over, not insulted.

“I have helped remove graffiti from various shops over the years and it can be done very cheaply, but the council needs to work with traders or the idea will fail.”

The council initiative to tackle graffiti launched last month

A council spokesman said: “We know that many residents feel passionate about graffiti and tagging and we are committed to trying new ways of taking action on clearing it up.

“We’ve started a year-long programme of targeted action zones to tackle problem graffiti in busy areas of the city.

“This involves co-ordinated activity of graffiti removal from council property, alongside engagement with businesses about dealing with problem graffiti on commercial property, including owners of city infrastructure, such as phone kiosks and post boxes.

“Evidence suggests that increased, quick removal of graffiti from premises and street furniture diminishes the incentive for graffiti vandals.

“We introduced the use of community protection notices earlier this year, following a public consultation. The idea is to allow us to work with, monitor and impose timescales on commercial property owners to take responsibility for ensuring problem graffiti is removed quickly.

“The first stage is to send a community protection warning to give businesses the opportunity to remove the graffiti. Homeowners, charities and community-run facilities are exempt from the scheme.

“The scheme is working well so far, with enforcement only needed against a few businesses who failed to remove graffiti and positive feedback from residents on the improvements.”