LAWRENCE GULLERY Graffiti has moved to a new level in Hastings, so high in fact tags can now be seen on the roofs and frontages of central business district (CBD) shops.
The vandalism is causing concern from city leaders who have said it spoils the image of the city tarnishing efforts to promote tourism.
The Hastings District Council reported the city experienced its worst spate of graffiti during the second quarter, from April to June 2007.
The end-of-quarter report tabled to the finance and monitoring committee, said however, traditional hot spots such as Camberley and Flaxmere, recorded a reduction in graffiti.
It seems the attention has switched to the CBD, where graffiti on roofs combined with the recent wet weather had made it difficult for the council staff to remove tagging.
Hastings ward councillor Margaret Twigg asked the committee why the culprits were not "being picked up" by the city's closed circuit television cameras in the CBD.
Cr Twigg said she was among a group which was photographed near the Hastings tower clock, struggling to find a spot away from graffiti.
"There wasn't one clean area where we could take a photo because it was covered in graffiti.
"Why are we spending so much money on cleaning up graffiti, shouldn't we be paying someone to monitor the cameras to pick these people up?
"It seems pointless putting all this money into (CBD) lights and cameras," she said.
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said for a while the council was spending in one quarter more than $100,000 on cleaning up graffiti. "But the situation has improved and we are changing the way we are doing things, we are removing graffiti overnight to discourage people from doing it," he said.
Mr Yule said the council had resigned to the fact it had to spend money cleaning up the problem.
"Yes, that's the reality, it is a problem and we have no option but to remove it," he said.
Spending more money on removal or CBD monitoring were options that needed closer attention, he said.
The council spent $15,397 on graffiti removal for the second quarter of the year compared to $14,811 for the second quarter during 2006.
Overall, 56 graffiti removals were recorded in the CBD, compared to 22 for the same time last year.
Businesses outside the CBD had 28 graffiti removals while private areas reported 78.
Tagging reaches new heights
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.