Belmont graffiti eyesore

BELMONT has become the new epicentre of graffiti vandalism, with spray can painters on the retreat from Grovedale, it has been claimed.

Dennis Blake, head of the Grovedale Graffiti Gang Action Group, said pressure from his group had forced graffiti vandals to shy away from Grovedale, which had attracted extra scrutiny from police, Geelong council, fed-up residents and traders.

Mr Blake said he had counted 118 examples of graffiti in Belmont in recent days.

“Belmont has been absolutely decimated. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

“They’ve gone away from residential properties because they now know the council will remove residential graffiti.”

Vince Albanese, manager of The Joker Shoppe Mensland, in High St, Belmont, said the graffiti problem had worsened over the past 18 months.

“We have had a spate of it, especially in buildings that are untenanted,” Mr Albanese said.

“It does get bad, but they cover it up pretty quickly. Otherwise it looks like a dog’s breakfast.

“We need to get through to those who’ve got nothing to do to stop rubbishing our facilities. But how do you get through to these numbskulls?”

Mr Blake also said he had a disappointing meeting with the Grovedale Community Hub in a bid to enlist support for his graffiti campaign.

“The community hub at Grovedale does not agree with the use of the word ‘gang’ and has refused to place our action group flyer,” he said.

“They are worried more about the kids than the graffiti vandalism.”