Highways England launches product trials to help remove graffiti from UK motorways

Connected Places Catapult are working with Highways England to support the trial of innovative products that could remove and prevent graffiti on the strategic road network.

The programme consists of two parallel workstreams:

(i) Innovation Pilots - to shortlist a number of suppliers, based on the preceding horizon scans and the outcome of the Request for Information, to carry out trials in order to ascertain the suitability of their products to address HE’s challenges in the removal and prevention of graffiti.

(ii) Innovation Funding Programme - launch an IFP to identify SMEs within the innovation space to research and curate a new product that address Highways England’s challenges in the removal and prevention of graffiti

Trials were successfully conducted over two days in June on an off-road site at Gravelly Hill in Birmingham where we had participation from six UK SMEs who demonstrated their removal and prevention products.

The companies taking part in the trials were:

• Blocksil (Removal)
• Dacrylate (Prevention)
• Pristine (Prevention)
• CC Infrastructure Services (Removal)
• Ecoblast Supplies Ltd (Removal)
• AGS One Ltd (Prevention)

Highways England has a strategic priority to investigate innovative methods for preventing and removing graffiti from the infrastructure of the UK’s major motorways. This does not just involve the physical removal of spray paint, a key component in the process of removing graffiti safely and efficiently centres on adopting effective traffic management solutions. Another key consideration is the prevention of spraying graffiti in the first place, for example, by coating infrastructure in antivandal paint and creating a media campaign to raise awareness.

In addition to this, an innovation funding programme was launched to shortlist six SMEs within the innovation space that address Highways England’s challenges in the removal and prevention of graffiti.

For more information about the programme and to watch the Graffiti Removal Trials video, click here.