New mural bid to stamp out graffiti



The Mural.
SPORT stars including paralympian Danny Crates have been immortalised with the transformation of the Daneholes Underpass, Blackshots, into a sporting mural.
The anti-graffiti project, funded by the Thurrock Community Safety Partnership and organised by the council’s street services team, involved local children, pupils from William Edwards School and the Stifford Community Forum.
Graffiti has been dramatically reduced in the areas of Thurrock where five similar murals have been created.
The success of the scheme has not only reduced the cost of clearing the graffiti, but also improved the appearance of the areas. Cllr Yash Gupta, the council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said: “By involving young people in improving their area they have pride which means they are more likely to respect it.
“These fantastic murals have not only helped to reduce the incidents of graffiti, but given our residents something attractive to look at.”
The Daneholes mural project was led by Sue Bloss, of Thurrock Council, and artist John Bulley, who have worked on the other similar projects across Thurrock.
The sports theme was chosen to reflect the close proximity of sports fields at Thurrock Rugby Club and Blackshots Leisure Centre and the involvement of William Edwards School, which is the local sports college.
The six other murals are at Grays Underpass, Tilbury Hairpin Bridge, Tamarisk Road, South Ockendon, Stanford-le-Hope Youth and Connexions Centre and Grays Beach Skate Park.
The first was at Grays Underpass and in the 12 months after its transformation, there were just four graffiti “tags” compared to more than 100 in the previous year.


Taken from: Thurrock Gazette


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