New home for Gorleston Banksy mural

The artist painted several pieces of street art around Norfolk and the Suffolk coast in August 2021.

However, one piece in Gorleston depicting an inflatable dinghy was covered up due to local sensitivities relating to a tragic accident that took place close by.

That work will now be removed from its current location at Gorleston Yacht Pond and treated by specialist restorers before going back on show at Great Yarmouth's award-winning Time and Tide Museum.

The piece will go on display in the museum's reception area, making it free to view for the public and museum visitors alike.

Council leader Carl Smith said: "We thank Banksy for all the wonderful art work that he gifted the borough. While a lot of his work is designed for a specific location, in this case the local circumstances would not have been known to him. We have worked with the family concerned, and they support the decision to find a new, less sensitive, location for the work."

Work on removing the painting is due to begin next week and expected to take around three days. Access to the yacht pond may be restricted during this time for safety reasons.

Following restoration, the mural will then go on show at the Time and Tide Museum on a temporary basis, sometime in the spring. The Blackfriars Road museum opened in 2004 in a former fish curing works and smokehouse, and now tells the story of Great Yarmouth from a sandbank to the present day.

Time and Tide is part of Norfolk Museums Service, which is jointly funded by Norfolk County Council and the district councils, including Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

Great Yarmouth area museums committee chairman Geoff Freeman said: "We are delighted to be hosting this public artwork on behalf of the borough council. Time and Tide is a living museum, and the visit by Banksy is big event in the recent history of Great Yarmouth so it is great to be able to incorporate it within our exhibits."

The borough council is continuing to explore options for a permanent home for the mural to ensure it remains on public display locally.