East Sussex town start project to tackle rise in illegal graffiti

The illegal spray-paining recently appeared on the Phoenix Causeway bridge and the old railway bridge on Lewes High Street, upsetting a number of local residents.

One resident said: “It is an unwanted eyesore, lacking any form of artistic merit and simply ranks along side litter, dog mess and fly tipping in lowering standards of the neighbourhood.

"There is a complete lack by sections of the community in caring for the urban environment, and that means respecting it and all those whose live, pass through or visit. Lewes is not some inner city deprived area, but a vibrant and peaceful town in a rural setting, lets be proud of it.”

Lewes District Council believes the graffiti is being carried out by adult men from outside the town and have started the "Lewes Transformation" project to tackle the issue.

Councillor Adrian Ross said: “It’s really been a discussion around the increased graffiti around the town and what we can do about it.

“We fundamentally want to improve the urban environment and try to engage people who are causing this.”

Graffiti is anything that is written, sprayed or painted on public or private property. It's illegal to do this without permission.

The Lewes project members meet once a month and aim to turn a ‘negative into a positive’ when tackling the graffiti. So far, councillors from both the district and county council have studied similar case studies from elsewhere to see how this has been achieved.

The programme has also invited graffiti experts, youth workers, Priory School pupils and members of the Lewes Skate Society to offer solutions to the issue.

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Suggestions have included increasing the amount of legal street art in the town, as the Extinction Rebellion art found at the Lewes Depot Cinema remains untouched by illegal paint.

A community group has also been set up to clean off the graffiti using removal wipes. However, the council say these are only effective on smooth surfaces and not on brick.

The group aims to finalise its plans at its next meeting on March 10.