Graffiti
Graffiti is an offence of criminal damage and can be reported to the Police; however they will not remove it.
Is the graffiti personally targeted towards you or your family?
- If yes, please refer to our intimidation / harassment section for guidance.
- If no, but if the graffiti is on our land, please complete our general enquiry form and attach a photo if possible and we will arrange to get this removed.
If the graffiti is abusive, racist, or threatening we will arrange to remove it as soon as possible.
If the graffiti is not on one of our properties, please contact the Council who will arrange to get it removed.
Fly-tipping
We define fly-tipping as:
- The unlawful dumping of waste at an Ark Housing property, this includes communal areas and bin stores.
- Mismanagement or misuse of waste facilities.
- Deposit of bulky items such as old furniture e.g. bed frames and sofas, fridges etc.
Please note: Fly-tipping on privately owned land will be the responsibility of the private land owner and not Ark Housing.
If the item is on land owned by the Council, this must be reported directly to them to arrange removal.
Abandoned cars
If you have noticed a vehicle that you believe to be abandoned, start by speaking to your neighbours to see if they know who owns the car.
If you have made enquiries and no-one knows, make a note of the registration number, and make of the car.
- If the vehicle is in one of our car parks or on Ark Housing property, please complete our contact us form and attach a photo if possible. You can check here if this vehicle is registered: https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax
- If the vehicle is on Ark Housing property, we will make attempts to contact the owner.
- If the vehicle is on a public road, please contact the Council.
- If you believe the vehicle is stolen, please contact the Police on 101 who will attend and recover the vehicle if it is stolen.
For other problems with stolen vehicles, repairing vehicles or parking issues, see below.
Obstructive parking
If your neighbour is parking in a manner which obstructs your ability to enter/leave your home, start by speaking to them first, they may not be aware their actions are causing you a problem.
If the problem continues then you can take the following action:
- If it is on land owned by Ark Housing, complete our contact us form and we will make contact with your neighbour. It may be that your neighbour/their visitors are not aware of the local parking arrangements.
- If it is on a public verge or highway and the vehicle is found to be parked contravening local parking regulations, contact the Police who may be able to assist by issuing a Penalty Charge Notice.
- If it is parked in such a manner where it needs to be removed immediately, please contact the Police who will arrange this if deemed necessary.
Repairing vehicles
This refers to the offence of repairing vehicles in the street. This is aimed at those carrying out repairs as part of running a vehicle repair business and not individuals repairing their own cars/bikes.
If you are being disturbed by a neighbour carrying out repairs, start by speaking to them, they may not be aware they are disturbing you or causing an obstruction. If the problem continues and you believe an offence is occurring, then you can either:
- If it is on a public highway, contact the Council who can investigate and consider action.
- If it is on land owned by Ark Housing and is causing a persistent noise nuisance, please refer to our noise section for guidance.
Speeding or dangerous vehicles
if you believe that a Road Traffic Offence has been committed, such as speeding or dangerous driving, you should report the incident to the Police.
The Department for Infrastructure (DFI) can install traffic calming measures to improve road safety. These may include road humps, chicanes, traffic islands etc. The DFI will decide whether a road needs traffic calming and, if so, which measures are most suitable. The specific traffic problem will bed dictated based on the location, type and size of traffic calming measures. These are usually chosen after discussion with road safety officers, local residents and the emergency services. An independent study may be conducted to assess the problem. You can also speak to your local Councillor or MLA.