The area’s Liberal Democrat ward councillors say the organisation’s failure to take prompt action to remove graffiti on its property is encouraging graffiti vandals, and contributing to a ‘downward spiral of neglect’.
They say bus shelters, litter bins and telecoms cabinets have all been hit by graffiti vandals in recent weeks.
They claim the spread of graffiti in the area is partly a consequence of Network Rail’s failure to remove graffiti from the bridge on St Helen’s Road and other property, which they say is sending out the wrong message.
Ward councillor Ashley Mason said the city council’s own graffiti-busting team had been hard at work trying to keep on top of the problem – and local councillors had also been out cleaning off graffiti.
But he said the fact Network Rail had failed to take action against graffiti on some of its property was sending a message to graffiti vandals that their ‘behaviour is acceptable’.
Cllr Mason said: “Despite being notified in mid-November of graffiti on the railway bridge on St Helens Road, Network Rail have yet to take action, saying that work to remove the graffiti ’will go ahead as soon as the team have the resources available and the weather is dry’.”
Cllr Mason believes this has led to more graffiti appearing on the bridge, as ‘vandals interpret the lack of action as an invitation to carry on defacing the bridge’.
“Elsewhere in the area, Network Rail is claiming not to be responsible for a graffiti-covered cabinet at the entrance to the Hob Moor underpass, even though the cabinet is labelled as being a ‘switch heating supply cubicle’ which it is understood relates to the operation of the adjacent East Coast mainline,” Cllr Mason said.
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Urging Network Rail to ‘take its responsibilities to the local community more seriously’ he added: “Up until recently, whenever graffiti was reported that was on Network Rail property, it was dealt with quickly and effectively.
“This sent out a clear message to graffiti vandals that damage to public property would not be tolerated.
“But the message now seems to be that this behaviour is acceptable.
“This approach by Network Rail has had consequences, in that other property in the local area has now been hit by graffiti, such as the bus shelter on Thanet Road and the community noticeboard on Southfield Crescent.
“Thankfully the graffiti team at the council acted quickly to remove it.
“The ‘broken windows theory’ states that visible signs of antisocial behaviour create an environment that encourages further crime. I would urge Network Rail to step up and do their bit to help break this downward spiral of neglect.”
The Press has approached Network Rail for comment.