Craigavon named as the graffiti capital of ABC Council area as city is blighted by problem

A bus shelter daubed with graffiti in Brownlow, Craigavon. Credit: ABC Council

A recent ABC Environmental Services Committee meeting was told Craigavon is by far the worst affected area in the council area.

Craigavon came out on top of the ‘black spot’ areas with 49 Department for Infrastructure, street features defaced; 27 BT street cabinets and other BT property targeted; 21 ABC-owned assets daubed with graffiti; and 44 other street properties also targeted, totalling 141 incidents.

Lurgan is ranked second, with 76 instances, Portadown comes third with 35 instances, six instances were reported in Armagh, and five in Banbridge.

The report states: “Fixed penalty notices may be issued to persons who have defaced specific surfaces.

“The council may issue a notice requiring an offender to remove the graffiti within a period of two days, and where the graffiti is not removed, the council may carry out the work and instigate steps to recover costs.

“Graffiti on property such as walls and bridges, and on the various NIE and BT street cabinets, will come within the enforcement remit of the council.

“These can be dealt with by the service of a Defacement Removal Notice (DRN) if informal approaches are not fruitful.

“In relation to private property, there is no enforcement role for the council. Matters should be dealt with through informal means.

“A budget can be agreed by members through the estimates process for 2025/2026, to allocate the necessary budget to deal with graffiti.

“Patrols by environmental wardens have been increased in key areas to update the survey data, monitor for any newly affected areas, and to assist with PSNI intelligence to identify potential offenders.

“Officers are working to consider exploratory options around the Probation Board, community-based initiatives, encouragement of increased reporting, additional funding opportunities etc. in the next period of months.”