By Alesha Capone
Wyndham ratepayers have forked out $1700 to clean up graffiti at a newly-upgraded Werribee skate park.
One of the latest cases of vandalism included Nazi and satanic symbols spray-painted onto the Loyola Reserve skate facility earlier this month.
Wyndham council officially opened the new skate park in November.
Council city operations director Stephen Thorpe said: “We are incredibly disheartened to see this new $345,000 skate park, which formed part of Wyndham City’s 2019-20 capital works program, being vandalised.
“Council has received five complaints of graffiti at this skate park since it was upgraded earlier this year, which has cost ratepayers $1700 to remove.”
Mr Thorpe said the council was “constantly looking at ways to prevent graffiti in our city and one of the most effective ways to combat this behaviour is through public artwork”.
He said the council has two ‘Legal Wall’ areas which youths can visit to legally create artwork.
“Council’s graffiti team also runs mural workshops and projects to assist youth who want to express themselves in a creative manner,” Mr Thorpe said.
“We also provide graffiti education sessions to school students to make youth aware of the negative impacts of illegal graffiti not only for themselves but for the wider community.”
Mr Thorpe said the council recorded all graffiti incidents in Wyndham and reported them to Victoria Police.
“To report graffiti or to express an anti-graffiti artwork idea, please email graffiti@wyndham.vic.gov.au,” Mr Thorpe said.
For more information on the location of the legal art walls, visit www.wyndham.vic.gov.au and search for ‘graffiti’.
