West Northamptonshire Council is collaborating with local artists and deploying a new van to boost graffiti removal efforts.

The work involves a partnership between the council and Veolia, with the aim of addressing the rise in demand for graffiti reduction across local neighbourhoods.

According to the council, resources are to be targeted towards several important routes that serve as ‘major gateways into Northampton’, with teams being responsible for alerting owners of private property on these routes to the removal services on offer.

The initiative will see a series of street art projects created by local artists and the council’s Community Safety Team. This will include areas that are frequently affected by graffiti (utility cabinets, walls near roads, shop shutters, and an underpass) being painted over with artwork.

Over the next month, the local authority has committed to delivering three wall murals and 24 pillars, four roadside wall murals, three shop shutters, and underpass artwork. A new van will also be deployed to assist the cleanup process.

A majority of the designs for the art and roadside pieces have been developed alongside local community groups, the council has confirmed, while a special coating will be used on the works to limit damage from ‘rogue graffiti’.

Cllr Nigel Stansfield, Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Waste, said: ‘We know that graffiti can have a negative impact on how people feel about their community, so this extra resource will help us respond faster and maintain important gateway routes.

‘Our growing programme of street art projects also shows that we are taking a positive and creative approach to tackling the issue. By working with local artists and community groups we can improve the look of our towns and protect vulnerable sites from repeated vandalism.’