WITH VIDEO: When a Brighton landlord was sent a letter asking him to spruce up his property, he decided to take the request very seriously.
But instead of heading down to B&Q for a few litres of paint, he called in the services of renowned Brighton graffiti artist Aroe MSK.
Now, the house in Viaduct Road is adorned with a huge mural on the theme London to Brighton, featuring a tattooed Queen Victoria, the Beachy Head lighthouse, a British bulldog, a deckchair and tube trains running underground.
Working on the mural yesterday, Aroe MSK said the landlord and other residents in the street had thought the request a “bit cheeky” and so had asked him to go one better.
The letters were sent out to residents of Viaduct Road by Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning enforcement team as part of a drive by the London Road Area Local Action Team (LAT) to tidy up the road.
The trial has also seen the controversial installation of plantpot chicanes to slow down traffic, which has seen speeds drop from an average of 43mph to about 23mph.
At a meeting last Tuesday, chair Philip Wells explained: “Planning enforcement has written to all the properties and individual flats asking for properties to be adequately painted and things like that.
“There are 119 properties, and a very high level of low maintenance – about half are in need of some sort of work.
“The next step is to be focusing in on individual properties where the appearance is causing concern.”
Speaking today, Rev Wells said: “It’s nice to see someone making an effort and using a bit of imagination.
“What the neighbours will think of it remains to be seen.”
AroeMSK has been working in the city for many years. Some of his most well-known works are the Run DMC mural in Kensington Street, the Star Wars mural opposite the Level and more recently, the hoardings around the Brighton i360 building site.
Though initiallys sceptical about the mural, it now seems much more attractive once the message behind it is understood.
Haha I’ll bet those busy bodies on London Rd are seething… Good, bloody interfering old gits with nothing better to do shouldn’t be proffered so much sat in how the city shapes up, imho.