Respect!

Most people care deeply about the neighbourhood and community in which they live, and many play an active role in making their neighbourhood a better place to live. It is normally a small minority of people that can spoil things for others. Whether you are the victim of nuisance or want to find out more about being respected in your community you can find out more here or at the Government Respect Agenda website.

Noise and Nuisance

Noise pollution can be reported to Ashford Borough Council, you can find out more at Ashford.gov.uk. Also, you can report and find out about anti-social behaviour.

Graffiti

Graffiti is classed as vandalism and is therefore illegal so it's worth using the borough's three dedicated Graffiti walls to do your thing. You can find them at:

Skate Park and Sk8side, Tannery Lane, Ashford
‘The Combat Area’ Victoria Park, Jemmett Road, Ashford

You can report and find out more about graffiti on the Council's graffiti webpage.

Graffiti Facts from www.need2know.co.uk

Spray painting public property is against the law and if caught you can be fined or prosecuted. Young graffiti artists however feel that it is a form of expression for which they need a platform. n2k finds out more.

Art or not?

Graffiti artists are known by tags - these are the signatures that can be seen in many public spaces. Motivation to tag can be purely for the art of graffiti but also stems from rivalry amongst taggers and the need to seek notoriety.

As well as tagging, graffiti can also be large pieces of artwork which can take hours to produce. Artists from a graffiti course run this year in Bexley feel that it depends on the type of graffiti on whether you can call it art or not.

Tyler aka ‘Jenda’ says, “I think in some cases graffiti is vandalism but when done in the right place and at the right time it’s not a bad thing at all”.

Graf artist Waze also on the course agrees, “People have different views about graffiti. Personally I think it depends on where and what you put up”.

The Law

Art or not, when put on other people’s property, graffiti is seen as a crime and there’s no getting round that. So what are the laws surrounding graffiti?

In 2003 the government introduced the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 which gave local councils the power to punish people doing graffiti in the streets by getting them to clean it up! The Anti-Social Behaviour act also allows police and community officers to issues on the spot £50 penalty notices. Young offenders can also end up with community orders.

In addition it also became an offence to sell spray paint to under 16s. Under the new act shop keepers can be fined up to £2,500.

Going Legal

In 2005 Camden Council in London spent over £250,000 in clean up costs for illegal graffiti. Many argue that it would be better use of public money if councils ran workshops and painting lessons, getting kids off the streets and also encouraging their talent.

The course in Bexley, run by PointBlank Music College aims to do just that by working to develop the art in legal setting. The college has also already worked successfully with many other community groups to run the accredited courses. Examples include The Urban Youth Arts community youth project in London who teamed up with Youth Centres, the Crime Reduction Unit's Youth Inclusion Programme and the Young People's Project, a charity working with young parents, to run the course.

Ashford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Tannery Lane, Ashford TN23 1PL
Call: 01233 330290 Email: info@whatmattersashford.co.uk Text: 07765 897208