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Graffiti at the skate park on The Level, Brighton, may soon be a thing of the past

Graffiti parks may soon be a thing of the past as the last remaining toleration zone in the city is set to close.

The council will decide on the future of the graffiti park at The Level in the coming weeks which could mark the end of unlicensed graffiti in the city.

Sarah Leach, a graffiti officer for City Clean, the council department responsible for removing unwanted graffiti, said the zones don't help to reduce the council costs illegal graffiti creates.

She said: "Tagging in tolerated sites is the same tagging we see around town - so tolerated sites don't work."

She added: "I can't see us installing a completely free, tolerated site again."

Earlier this year, the council decided to close the controversial Tarner Park which had been a graffiti toleration zone since the late 1980s. The move followed the closure of sites in the Davigdor area of Hove, The Moon in Worthing and the Blackrock site at the Marina.

Amy Kennedy, councillor for the Preston Park ward, said: "The end of toleration zones is very regrettable. Where do young people get to practise to become good artists? How do they develop? We need to make sure that enough opportunities are being offered."

An online petition calling for the return of legal graffiti sites in Brighton was set-up by local company Blakstar, who produce graphics for clients such as Vodafone.

The petition states that the ban on graffiti sites would increase council costs and the risk of vandalism in local areas and attracted more than 200 signatures in two months.

The Argus has learned that the council has not collected specific figures on graffiti costs in the city. City Clean employs a specialist graffiti management team, yet did not know how much graffiti was costing taxpayers when the Argus made a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

David Samuel, owner of graffiti gallery Rarekind on Preston Street, has worked extensively with young people using graffiti. He said: "When people haven't got anywhere legal to do graffiti, they have to do quick, ugly things on the move - it's worse for everyone. There is already more tagging - it's going back to how it used to be. Toleration zones help young graffiti artists and keep council costs down - but without the figures to back that up it will never be proved."

Ms Leach said now the removal team is permanent, figures would be kept. She said: "We will continue to work with graffiti artists in a more organised way - we are more than happy to do that."

The council has commissioned a number of large graffiti art pieces around the city in recent months, such as the work in Kensington Street which has become a tourist attraction in the area.

Mr Samuel said that this will not solve the graffiti problem in the city. He said: "You can't expect kids to create art like Kensington Street - they need a practise ground."

Ben Duncan, councillor for the Queen's Park ward, said that closing Tarner Park to graffiti was not an easy decision. He said: "The Tarner graffiti was one of the things that was great about this area, but unfortunately it became clear that keeping it wasn't an option.

"Graffiti by its very nature isn't susceptible to public management, and it is not for the council to define what graffiti is good and what isn't."

City Clean is discussing alternatives to toleration zones with the council.

One possibility is a system allowing people to apply for a licence to graffiti in a set area on a set date. The scheme would increase administration for the council and the police, but Ms Leach said it would be discussed as an alternative.

10:17am Monday 21st April 2008

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