The war on graffiti has seen the council’s ‘biggest intervention’ to date

17:15, 07 Jan 2026Updated 17:15, 07 Jan 2026

How the Bromley Street underpass, in Red Bank, looked before volunteers cleaned it up(Image: Manchester council)

Manchester’s graffiti hotspots have been named – and two areas account for nearly half of reports across the city.

The council received 1,878 graffiti reports last year, with 42 per cent coming from just two wards. The most-graffitied was Piccadilly with 482 incidents, followed by Deansgate with 309. Third-highest was Withington with 118, as Cheetham (89) and Higher Blackley (85) rounded out the top five.

The figures prompted Manchester council to declare war on vandalism, enlisting an army of four staff to stamp it out. It spent £17,000 on ‘the biggest graffiti intervention’ at Slate Wharf in Castlefield late last year, officers said on Tuesday (January 6).

“It’s a 500 sqm (5,382 sq ft) patch,” explained city centre neighbourhood manager Juliet Felstead.

“It included an application of anti-graffiti coating that prevents graffiti sticking as well.”

The council has also convinced film production companies to pay for cleaning at Castlefield Bowl, used volunteers to repaint the Bromley Street underpass in Red Bank, and is establishing closer connections with major landowners to organise removal.

The war isn’t solely focused on reacting to new graffiti, Ms Felstead added: “We have some effective tools like community protection orders. We do identify perpetrators, we work with GMP to prosecute and get a criminal behaviour order which can include a condition like not carrying a spray can.

“We have community graffiti cleaning kits which are good if you need to remove tags from smooth surfaces.”

Slate Wharf was covered in graffiti (Image: Manchester council)

However, she warned sites where graffiti is removed ‘become hotspots for re-tagging’. That means ‘a lot of time and effort… could be undone with one can of spray paint’, Coun Mandie Shilton Godwin said at Tuesday’s environment scrutiny meeting. She called for more to be done to stay on top of the issue, amid promises that next year’s multi-million-pound windfall will be spent on street cleaning.

A council spokesperson has outlined how residents can help remove graffiti. They said: “Graffiti art and street art styles make up a huge part of Manchester’s character and presence. However, graffiti that is not commissioned or agreed can negatively impact the appearance of our city and the sense of community we all share.

How Slate Wharf in Castlefield looked after the £17,000 clean up(Image: Manchester council)

“If you see graffiti that needs to be removed, information on where to report graffiti throughout the city can be found on the council website. Any graffiti on council land, assets or buildings can be reported for removal on the council website. Where the landowner is unknown, we can also further investigate this.

“For graffiti in public transport areas, please contact Transport for Greater Manchester through their website or customer service line.

“By working together, we can keep Manchester vibrant and welcoming of artistic expression through appropriate and constructive ways.”

See how many reports were made in every Manchester council ward below.

No. graffiti incidents, Oct 2024 – Sept 2025