Graffiti blitz dead in the water over fears of damaging bridges

Published on Monday 21 September 2009 09:54

BOSSES in charge of maintaining the Union Canal say they cannot clean up graffiti-ridden bridges – for fear of causing damage.

The stonework on the historic bridges has become covered in graffiti tags in recent months, but the operator, British Waterways, says it is unable to do anything about it.

It has been told it needs the go-ahead from Historic Scotland and must employ a specialist team to complete the work on the bridges, some of which are more than 200 years old and are classed as ancient monuments.

The delays are proving to be a major headache for supervisor Tommy Thomson, who has been forced to field continual complaints about the vandalism.

He said: "Graffiti has been a big problem over the last five years, but in recent months I've never seen it so bad.

"There are a lot of moves to redevelop the canalside, meaning much of it resembles a bit of a building site at the moment. This makes it a magnet for graffiti merchants and alcoholics.

"We've had the police graffiti team, the council and Historic Scotland involved in trying to tackle the situation.

"The graffiti has to be specially cleaned because Scottish Government guidelines won't let us use any abrasive chemicals. If you were to start using the wrong chemicals, the stonework would soon start falling away."

The graffiti on the bridges is so dense that vandals are going to increasingly dangerous lengths to leave their mark around the canal, including leaning over the roof of the multi-storey Fountain Brewery building.

British Waterways is currently in consultation with Historic Scotland to discover a way to safely remove the graffiti, but does not know how long it will take.

Bridget Stevens, chairwoman of Merchiston Community Council, said: "It seems excessively bureaucratic to have to involve an organisation like Historic Scotland when all that's required is the use of a simple graffiti removal kit.

"This is a perennial problem – no sooner is the graffiti cleaned off these bridges than it reappears, so it is clear that a rapid response is required, not one that requires months of negotiations with large bureaucratic organisations. Better still, of course, would be a permanent solution if one could be found."

A spokeswoman for Historic Scotland said: "The options available obviously depend on a range of issues, including access, what has been used to mark the bridge and what the bridge is made of.

"Using chemicals may contaminate the canal and be harmful to aquatic life. Abrasive and chemical systems also have the potential to damage the surface and may leave it more vulnerable to the elements. Our conservation specialists have offered to visit the site with British Waterways staff to look at the best way forward."