Nottingham City Council is introducing a dedicated graffiti removal service as part of a wider effort to tackle vandalism and anti-social behaviour across the city.
The service will work alongside Nottinghamshire’s Immediate Justice programme, which requires eligible offenders responsible for low-level offences to carry out visible work in the communities affected.
The council said the new approach will provide a faster and more coordinated response to graffiti, tagging and vandalism in streets, public spaces and neighbourhoods.
People taking part in the Immediate Justice scheme will support the council’s graffiti removal team with smaller-scale clean-up work and other community improvement activities.
The programme has previously supported council-led Days of Action, with offenders carrying out work to improve areas of the city.
Councillor Shannon, Nottingham City Council’s Executive Member for Community Protection, Neighbourhoods and Equalities, said:
“Our investment in a dedicated graffiti removal service will make sure that when graffiti goes up, it comes down again quickly.
“By responding quickly to reports of graffiti and vandalism, we will reduce the impact on our community and help keep our streets looking their best.
“The Immediate Justice programme will put vandals to work, cleaning up the messes they’ve made, and deterring them from reoffending.
“Put together, this will keep Nottingham the clean, welcoming place we all want it to be.”
The Immediate Justice programme is supported by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire.
Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said:
“When partners come together like this, we can have a bigger impact on tackling issues that really matter to local people.
“This partnership is ensuring public spaces remain clean and tidy for local residents to enjoy, making them feel safer, whilst giving swift and visible justice to offenders at the same time. It’s a win-win.”
The council said the investment is intended to speed up the removal of graffiti and increase joint working between the authority and the Immediate Justice programme.
It also said improving the appearance of the city centre, district centres and key routes into Nottingham could support the local economy and make public spaces more attractive to residents and visitors.
The work will also form part of wider multi-agency activity aimed at improving safety in Nottingham city centre under Operation Reclaim.
