Is grafitti helping or hindering Sandown?

A controversial piece of graffiti on boarding around the derelict Ocean Hotel has caused a stir in Sandown. Residents and tourists were greeted this week with blue graffiti reading “F***ing fix Sandown!” scrawled across the newly erected boards.

The crude message sparked concern about its impact on tourists and children, prompting Shanklin’s deputy mayor, Cllr Adrian Whittaker, to highlight the issue on social media. He shared an edited photo of the graffiti on Facebook, ironically giving it more exposure. In his post on Sandown Hub, he asked the community if anyone had spare paint to help cover the slogan, noting that it didn’t reflect well on the town.

Cllr Whittaker also tagged Sandown’s mayor, Alex Lightfoot, in a public comment asking for the hotel owner’s contact details. His efforts met with mixed reactions from locals. One resident advised him to “give it a rest,” pointing out his failure to see the irony of his post. Another sarcastically offered some spare paint for £50, saying the “council/government love to overpay for useless things”.

Following the backlash, Cllr Whittaker’s original post was deleted, and the graffiti was painted over. However, the cut-price Banksy struck again the following day, with another message complaining that overpainting was just ignoring the issues and this time, leaving a tag directing people towards a new Facebook page. Fix Sandown, which already boasts almost 500 likes, asks: “Hello fellow Islanders – are you sick and tired of Sandown being an absolute joke of a town?” The caption on the latest post, which included a picture of the new slogan, read: “They will only just cover it and forget. As people have said I need to continue until there is some new information from the council or until something changes. Sorry for the language it’s just my way of expressing what’s important.”

IW East MP, Joe Robertson, said: “I don’t agree with spray painting the fence around the Ocean Hotel; however, there is understandable widespread frustration with the state of some buildings in Sandown which are dragging the town down.

“Sandown is a great place with lovely beaches but it will struggle to return to its former glory while some of its buildings look so poor. I want the Council to do more to help, with my support. Sandown regeneration will be on the agenda for my meeting with the council leader and chief executive in early September.”

The ongoing saga has shone a spotlight on the broader issues plaguing Sandown, with debate on the Facebook page about whether the graffiti is highlighting or adding to the problems. Whether the protest will lead to actual change remains to be seen, but one thing is clear — Sandown’s residents are tired of waiting for action.