A major eyesore is among graffiti targets in Caringbah that will be covered with murals by established artists.
The wall of a seafood shop next to the train station has long been a target of vandalism.
Sutherland Shire Council revealed the new initiative in response to criticism by a Caringbah resident in an email to the Leader.
The resident reported “complaining on multiple occasions” to the council about the graffiti on the wall of the seafood shop.
“It is always covered in graffiti and it is the first thing people see when they drive through the suburb,” the resident said.
“They need to put plants in front of the wall or a mural as it keeps getting tagged.
“The Caringbah suburb sign is also tagged at the moment.
“Another Caringbah highlight is the graffiti on the side of the apartment block at 267 Kingsway.
“The graffiti has been there for so long it’s permanently on Google maps.”
The council spokeswoman said the property housing the seafood shop was owned by Sydney Trains.
“After identifying that this space was an area frequented by graffiti vandals, council approached Sydney Trains in order to gain approval for this wall to be included in an exciting new local crime prevention initiative,” she said.
“This wall, along with a number of other spaces across Caringbah...will have murals painted by established and well-known artists to beautify the spaces and ultimately deter this type of vandalism.”
More details would be released shortly, she said.
The spokeswoman the council’s policy was that all reported graffiti vandalism to council property would be removed.
In addition, the council removed offensive graffiti from non-council property in circumstances where the vandalism was visible from a public place or was able to be removed without the need to enter private property.
In cases of non-offensive graffiti on non-council property, the council would offer to remove it as long as the owner consent and paid the cost of the clean-up.
“Council has and will continue to engage and collaborate with local authorities and other stakeholders on this issue to reduce the rate of graffiti vandalism within Sutherland Shire,” she said.
“The best thing you can do to help reduce graffiti in our community is report it when you see it.
Where to report graffiti:
- Police stations, Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or Crime-stoppers on 1800 333 000,.
- NSW Graffiti Hotline (Services NSW) on 1800 707 125 (free call) between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
- On council property, email: sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Home/Report-It/Report-It-Graffiti
