Lloyds Bank has committed to clearing graffiti and vandalism from a closed branch following a request from the council leader.
Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council Bella Sankey urged the firm to clean up its former branch in Preston Circus, Brighton.
Lloyds Bank closed the branch in October 2021, with the site being daubed with graffiti tags and posters since.
In a post on Twitter, Cllr Sankey asked: “Hi Lloyds Bank, you’ve left your Preston Circus premises in Brighton (in) a terrible state. Could you clean it up please?”
The bank has since responded and confirmed that they will soon clear their former site of vandalism.
A Lloyds Bank spokeswoman said they understand the vandalism is upsetting and unsightly and are actively working to secure a specialist clean to resolve the issue.
“We’ve spoken with our property partner, who manage the building, and they are arranging for a specialist team to visit and clean up the vandalism as soon as possible,” she said.
A specific timeframe for the cleaning of the site was not announced.
The council leader’s request was praised on social media, with one user saying: “This is one of the grottiest spots of the entire city - thank you for highlighting, unlike your predecessors.”
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Cllr Sankey said: “Big business has an important role to play in ensuring that the premises they use in Brighton and Hove are clean and community-enhancing.
“I’m pleased that Lloyds Bank has now agreed to clean up the building they vacated at Preston Circus, but this should have been done immediately.
“Our administration is working on a new graffiti management strategy and enforcing clean-ups by multinational companies with deep pockets will be a central part of that.”
Lloyds Banking Group reported £6.9 billion in earnings last year, with its profits nearly doubling in the final three months of last year as interest rates increased.
The firm closed a further two branches in Sussex earlier this year, with a branch in Beach Road in Littlehampton shutting in May and another in The Street in Rustington closing earlier this month.
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