FROME Town Council is inviting residents, businesses and local groups to a discussion about graffiti in the town centre.

Maintaining its appearance falls under the remit of Somerset Council, however, in recent years, the council has employed an additional town ranger with specific responsibility for the town centre who regularly cleans graffiti from street furniture and bins.

The meeting on July 22 aims to bring together members of Somerset Council, Frome Town Council and the local community to seek new strategies to tackle the problem.

Cllr Nick Dove said: “Ranger Mike undertakes regular ‘resets’ to clean up graffiti but often his work is undone within days or even hours. Unwanted tagging and graffiti don’t just ruin the appearance of our town centre; it’s criminal damage.

“Lots of residents have contacted me to say how angry they are at these deliberate acts of vandalism and how it damages the look of our beautiful town.

“Although we’ve taken steps to tackle it ourselves, FTC aren’t permitted to clean road signs belonging to Somerset, for instance, and we can’t be everywhere, no more can the police or our colleagues at Somerset.

“For the greatest impact we need to work together with the community, from eyes and ears on the ground to your creative ideas and strategies. This is a town-wide problem that requires a town-wide solution and we need your help please.

“Frome is a town that embraces creativity; we’ve commissioned several pieces of street art in recent years. One possibility is the creation of a town-centre art trail, with local artists creating pieces of public art on frequently tagged surfaces.

"Evidence suggests that this can discourage vandalism and repeat tagging, while creating a stronger sense of pride and ownership in public spaces.”

The discussion is part of the Community and Place Committee meeting on Wednesday, July 22 at Frome Town Hall.