Graffiti Removal Code of Practice for exercising the powers set out in section 12 and 13 of the London Local Authorities Act 1995 (as amended) Association of London Government The Association of London Government (ALG) is committed to fighting for more resources for London and getting the best possible deal for London’s 33 councils. Part think tank and part lobbying organisation, we also run a range of services designed to make life better for Londoners. The Association of London Government (ALG) was formed in April 2000 from a merger of the five borough-funded London wide bodies that remained outside the new Greater London Authority. These were the previous ALG, the Greater London Employers’ Association, London Boroughs Grants, the London Housing Unit and the Transport Committee for London. The ALG represents all 32 London boroughs, the Corporation of London, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, which all pay an annual subscription. It is a statutory joint committee. It is in an ideal position to advise on a range of issues relating to London government and other matters of concern to Londoners. It also works closely with the Local Government Association and with many private, voluntary and public sector bodies. The main functions of the ALG are to: provide a single voice for its member authorities where possible, lobby for adequate resources for the capital, lead on policy formulation and debate on key issues for London, act as the employers’ organisation for the boroughs, provide specialist housing advice, allocate grants to voluntary organisations serving more than one borough and provide and manage certain London- wide transport and traffic services. This Code of Practice is published by the Association of London Government, Transport and Environment Committee (TEC). TEC aims to ensure that London boroughs’ concerns and best practice are taken fully into account in the development and implementation of the whole range of transport and environment policies generated by Government departments, the European Union, and the Mayor of London. 2 foreword Graffiti is not art… No matter where you live or work in London, graffiti is an all too frequent fact of everyday life. Where it occurs it is highly visible and has a great impact on the public and their perception of the area. Graffiti is not just an isolated nuisance but linked to other forms of enviro-crime that demean and spoil our streets, town centres and open spaces. Graffiti is a costly and annoying expression of anti-social behaviour that can undermine our sense of well-being, making us feel uncomfortable in our own neighbourhoods. The cost of graffiti is two fold, the financial cost of removing and enforcing against it, and the cost to our communities. London has led the way nationally, in pushing for legislative changes to allow local authorities to tackle graffiti and provide the services that people want. This echoes the direction of National Government to improve the quality of the local environment by giving Local Authorities greater and additional powers to deal with enviro-crimes. This Code of Practice sets out the powers contained in the London Local Authority Act 1995 (as amended) relating to Graffiti Removal. However more is needed than just removal if we are going to eradicate graffiti from London’s streets, town centres and open spaces. This poses a number of challenges for local authorities and other stakeholders to work together to prevent graffiti, to actively tackle the nuisance and take enforcement action against the perpetrators. The ALG and London local authorities acknowledge that property owners and occupiers are also the victims of graffiti, and suggests that real progress towards eradicating this nuisance can only be made if local authorities and stakeholders work in partnership; developing new and innovative local and regional solutions to remove and prevent graffiti and enforcement against the perpetrators, sharing information and best practice at a regional level in a coordinated London approach. Ultimately each of us has a role to play. The ALG believes that this approach is achievable across the capital and hope that through publicising the recommended process of partnership working London can make real progress in eradicating graffiti. Cllr. Mike Cartwright, Chair, Transport and Environment Committee 3 contents Introduction 5 General Principles 6 Graffiti 6 Graffiti Removal Notice 6 Owner and Occupiers 7 Land covered 7 Operational Land 7 Definitions of ‘offensive’ and ‘detrimental’ 7 Flyposting 8 Protected Parties 9 Protection of universal postal service providers 9 Procedure 10 Initial process 10 When to use the 1995 Act powers 10 Process for issuing a Notice 11 Service of Notice 11 Appeals 12 Counter Notice and Protected Parties 12 Enforcement 13 Procedures for dealing with repeat graffiti 13 Cleaning 14 Generally 14 Telecommunications Cabinets and Payphones 14 Access and Safety 15 Access to track/rail property 15 Access to Ports and Airports 15 Dealing with electrical equipment 16 Recovery of Expenditure 18 Monitoring, Rollout and Regulatory Impact Assessment 19 Appendices 20 Appendix A: Flow chart of procedure for graffiti removal 20 Appendix B: Standard Notice Template 23 Appendix C: Key regional and national stakeholders 26 4 introduction 1 Sections 12-14 of the London Local Authorities Act 2004 (‘the 2004 Act’) amend Sections 12 and 13 of the London Local Authorities Act 1995 (‘the 1995 Act’), enabling a local authority to serve a ‘graffiti removal notice’ on the occupiers of premises, apparatus or plant which would enable the local authority to recover the expenses of graffiti removal. 1 1 Section 12(6D) of the 2 The 1995 Act1 requires the Association of London Government, Transport and Environment joint 1995 Act. Committee2 (‘ALG TEC’) to agree and publish a Code of Practice (CoP) with respect to recovery of expenses before a borough can exercise this power. 2 ‘Joint committee’ means any joint committee established under section 3 The ALG TEC, although only required to develop a Code of Practice relating to recovery of costs for 101(5) the Local Government Act 1972 and graffiti removal, has, with the agreement of the London boroughs and in consultation with comprising at least one member from each affected owners and occupiers, extended this CoP to include operational and process issues, to borough council. In this provide guidance and help foster better working relationships and a partnership approach to case the Association of London Government, tackling the problem of graffiti. The ALG TEC will aim to ensure that, where feasible, there will be Transport and as much consistency with the national guidelines for use of similar powers provided in the Anti Environment Committee (‘ALG TEC’) performs this Social Behaviour Act 2003 (‘the ASB 2003 Act’) as possible. As this CoP has been prepared in function. consultation with the London boroughs and endorsed by the ALG TEC, London boroughs should have regard to it in employing the powers set out in sections 12 and 13 of the 1995 Act to aid in the prevention and removal of graffiti. 4 The CoP is also to publicise the recommended process of partnership working to explain how local authorities and owners and occupiers can work together to tackle graffiti. 5 The London boroughs, national and regional government, and owners and occupiers in the community affected by graffiti (‘stakeholders’) have been consulted in the preparation of this CoP, and the CoP has been published following a decision of the ALG TEC on 21 July 2005. 6 The ALG TEC will be responsible for liaising with stakeholders in the review of this CoP and the on- going development of uniform policy initiatives for combating graffiti. 5 general principles 7 Graffiti is a very important issue that is regularly highlighted as one of the key concerns of Londoners in the annual survey conducted by the ALG. It is a blight on the local environment for 3 London Assembly Environment Committee, people that live, work and visit London and citizens often associate it with anti-social behaviour scrutiny report on graffiti and crime and disorder. It is estimated to cost London £100m a year, with London boroughs in London, 2001. spending an estimated £7m a year on cleaning it up3. 8 This CoP is agreed on the premise and gives guidance that the London boroughs will use all reasonable steps to develop co-operative and constructive partnership arrangements with owners and occupiers in each of their local authority areas, which will support the prevention, management and removal of graffiti and aim to minimise the need for removal notices. It is also intended to foster a more standardised pan-London approach to graffiti removal. 9 London boroughs and owners and occupiers are encouraged to work cooperatively in tackling graffiti and all parties should work on the principle that graffiti should be removed as quickly as possible once identified, this is of particular importance regarding offensive graffiti. 10 It is acknowledged that property owners and occupiers are the victims of graffiti and the cost of its removal, extrapolated across London, can run to millions of pounds. London boroughs should encourage owners and occupiers to both take measures, as far as possible, to prevent graffiti (for example by using anti-graffiti coatings), and also to work in constructive partnership with the London boroughs to develop joint working initiatives to ensure effective and efficient removal of graffiti, as quickly as possible, with the aim being that notices are only issued as a last resort. 11 All parties should work on the principle that local authority employed staff and their contractors working to remove and prevent graffiti are knowledgeable in their field and deal with the issues on a daily basis and in undertaking their duties act with due diligence.