A successful meeting on the local problem of graffiti was organised by Highgate’s Lib Dem councillors on Tuesday.

Local resident and graffiti-buster Mike Read told the audience at St Michael’s Primary School, North Road, how he and residents had raised funds for a dramatic clean up of the problem in Southwood Lane, and used the meeting to make contact with other local groups and residents interested in tackling the problem.

The meeting also heard councillor Lynne Featherstone speak about the issue and Haringey Council’s record in dealing with graffiti. As a result of local campaigns, Haringey is now under pressure, she said, to reverse its policy of only cleaning up graffiti that is racist or obscene.

Local community police inspector Simon Heffer also updated locals on the efforts of the police, who have been working with Southwood Graffiti Action and local councillor Neil Williams following the Southwood Lane clean up.

Residents were pleased to hear that, as of this week, the police will have six more officers available to deal with these kinds of crimes in Highgate and the west of the borough. There was disappointment, however, that the council did not accept an invitation to attend the meeting.

Local councillor Neil Williams, who organised and chaired the meeting, comments:

“I am very pleased with the way things have gone. Mike Read of Southwood Graffiti Action has made some more useful contacts and the meeting showed the strength of feeling there is on this issue.

“I am disappointed that representatives from the Haringey Council failed to accept an invitation to come to the meeting. We must keep up the pressure to ensure that the Labour-run council takes this issue seriously, as graffiti just breeds more serious crime.”

You can get Lynne Featherstone’s graffiti fighting fact-sheet here (pdf format).