Men caught ‘urinating and vomiting’ next to huge Victoria Wood mural in Bury

An area next to a huge wall mural of Victoria Wood is being used by people ‘urinating, vomiting and exposing themselves’, councillors have heard.

A Bury Council planning committee meeting heard complaints from a nearby resident and a councillor about a large yellow business waste bin near the mural which they claim attracts anti-social behaviour.

The artwork takes up the whole gable end of the Sword and Sparrow tattoo parlour on Bury Old Road, just to the north of Heaton Park Metro station. It was created in late 2019 by acclaimed street artist Akse and includes a the quote ‘I’m going North. It’s a compulsion with me’, by the beloved comedian and writer.

At a meeting to deliberate on a retrospective change of use for the premises to operate as a tattoo parlour complaints were heard from a nearby resident, Dr Philomena Keane. She said large industrial bins belonging to the businesses very close to her home attracted disgusting behaviour.

She said: “Men stop to urinate outside my house, they stop to vomit outside my house and they expose themselves outside my house, next to my window. When I ask them to move on they are verbally aggressive to me.

“Bury Council have had numerous CCTV and photos showing this. It doesn’t go along with the crime and disorder act or environmental health or well-being.

“It doesn’t go along with equalities act that people with disabilities are having to navigate themselves around these big industrial bins. The bins are never placed to the east of the shutters which the planning department keep saying they will enforce but never have done.

“They are always placed as in your planning photographs next to my house. The planning department are aware of the impact this has had on my well-being, on my property value and on my safety.”

Bin issues

Ward councillor Cristina Tegolo told the meeting the bin issue had existed for several years,

She said: “As Dr Keane mentioned the problem here is a yellow bin. We can’t close our yes and say it’s not part of the application.

“I find it ridiculous that we have a piece of art like the mural of Victoria Wood who was born in Prestwich and then we put a yellow bin in front of it. I absolutely share the concern of it smelling of urine and the disgusting behaviour of people coming from Heaton Park and stopping there to do their business.

“We need to look at it, inform other departments so they can look at this issue and try to find a solution.”

Committee member, Jackie Harris, said: “I’m horrified by what I’ve heard this lady. We’ve got to do something. I’ve been on planning a number of years and have never heard such a sad case as this.”

The meeting heard that the issue of the bins was not strictly part of the planning process up for debate but it was agreed that the Bury’s planning department would contact other departments within the council, including environmental health, so see if improvements could be made.

Councillors approved the change of use application.