MEDIA RELEASE 1 July 2008

Government funding for Christchurch Graffiti Office

The Christchurch Council’s planned Graffiti Office has been granted $375,000 in Government funding, to be spread over the next three years.

The office will focus on education, restoration and prevention and is expected to be up and running by October.

Chair of the Council’s Nuisances in Public Places Committee Councillor Bob Shearing said it was great the office had gained Government support. The committee had been right behind the initiative “and we look forward to supporting the staff as they get the office set up”, he said.

“The Council is determined to work with Police and other organisations to crack down on public nuisances like graffiti and noise, ” Cr Shearing said.

The Council’s Unit manager Community Support Catherine McDonald said she was very pleased the Council’s application had been successful, since there had been strong competition for the funding.

“There were submissions totalling $5 million competing for a fund of $1 million.

“I think our application was successful because we already had our planning well under way and processes in place for setting up the office.”

In addition to the Government funding, the Council has allocated $150,000 from its City Environment budget, and will be seeking support from potential partners like Orion, OnTrack and KiwiRail.

The money will be used for salaries, setting up expenses, education projects and a tagging database including photographs of different taggers’ styles.

Mrs McDonald said the Council spent about $1.1 million a year on combating graffiti and establishing a central office would help with the co-ordination with other services.

The Graffiti Office initiative connects with other Council strategies on public nuisances. More information is available on the Council website. Go to www.ccc.govt.nz to find out more on:
• The Graffiti Hotline
• Project Legit
• The Graffiti Vandalism Removal Volunteer Programme
• Anti-graffiti paint
• Crime Prevention through Urban Design
• The Central City Revitalisation Strategy
• The Safer Christchurch Strategy

ENDS

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