Graffiti and rubbish in Parramatta is sending the wrong message to both residents and visitors to the city, according to a local Councillor.
Recent graffiti and left-behind rubbish underneath the Bernie Banton Bridge in Parramatta has left locals frustrated, with Our Local Community (OLC) Parramatta Councillor Henry Green saying something has to be done to prevent the vandalism.
“People have complained about it, walking over the bridge and looking at it, but it’s mainly the children going to and from school that I’m more worried about,” he told Parra News.
“It’s not very good for anyone to have to look at it.”
The Parramatta ward Councillor adds that it also gives a bad first impression to those who travel to the city to see events or watch sports games.
“When the football is on or anything like that at CommBank [Stadium], you’ve got dozens of people walking past all this sort of thing,” Green said.
“There’s quite a bit of [vandalism] along there, also along the precinct walk there, we’re getting a lot of needles.
“It’s not a good look for the Parramatta city. They just throw their rubbish into the river there – we’ve got to do something about it.”
Confirming Council officers have been notified, City of Parramatta said it is unable to clean up the graffiti under Bernie Banton Bridge as it falls on private property.
“Council received a request to clean up graffiti near the Bernie Banton Bridge on March 20,” a City of Parramatta spokesperson said.
“However, the graffiti identified is on private property and staff are unable to enter the premises to remove it.”
With the new and improved Parramatta Police Station set to open sometime this year, Green is hoping police officers operating out of the heart of the city again will act as a deterrent for future vandalism and littering throughout the city.
“We need to get the police down there to really clean it up,” he added.
“Once the police station goes in across the road here, I think it will clear a lot of these problems up.”
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.