![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2_Bromley-Street-before.jpg\")
How the Bromley Street underpass, in Red Bank, looked before volunteers cleaned it up(Image: Manchester council)<\/p>\nThe war on graffiti has seen the council’s ‘biggest intervention’ to date<\/p>\n
17:15, 07 Jan 2026Updated 17:15, 07 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
How the Bromley Street underpass, in Red Bank, looked before volunteers cleaned it up(Image: Manchester council)<\/p>\n
Manchester\u2019s graffiti hotspots have been named \u2013 and two areas account for nearly half of reports across the city.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> with 309. Third-highest was Withington<\/a> with 118, as Cheetham (89) and Higher Blackley<\/a> (85) rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n The figures prompted Manchester council to declare war on vandalism, enlisting an army of four staff to stamp it out. It spent \u00a317,000 on \u2018the biggest graffiti intervention\u2019 at Slate Wharf in Castlefield late last year, officers said on Tuesday (January 6).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a 500 sqm (5,382 sq ft) patch,\u201d explained city centre neighbourhood manager Juliet Felstead.<\/p>\n \u201cIt included an application of anti-graffiti coating that prevents graffiti sticking as well.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The war isn\u2019t solely focused on reacting to new graffiti, Ms Felstead added: \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have community graffiti cleaning kits which are good if you need to remove tags from smooth surfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n However, she warned sites where graffiti is removed \u2018become hotspots for re-tagging\u2019. That means \u2018a lot of time and effort\u2026 could be undone with one can of spray paint\u2019, Coun Mandie Shilton Godwin said at Tuesday\u2019s environment scrutiny meeting. She called for more to be done to stay on top of the issue, amid promises that next year\u2019s multi-million-pound windfall<\/a> will be spent on street cleaning.<\/p>\n A council spokesperson has outlined how residents can help remove graffiti. They said: \u201cGraffiti art and street art styles make up a huge part of Manchester\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you see graffiti that needs to be removed, information on where to report graffiti throughout the city can be found on the council website.<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_Picture2.png\")
Slate Wharf was covered in graffiti (Image: Manchester council)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_Media-16jfif.jpg\")
How Slate Wharf in Castlefield looked after the \u00a317,000 clean up(Image: Manchester council)<\/p>\n