Fury as famous £1m Banksy destroyed by council with building ripped down…but officials want to COPY mural using pics
A £1MILLION Banksy mural has been destroyed after a council ripped down a building - but officials want to copy it using pictures.
The work by the acclaimed graffiti artist was painted on the side of a structure in Dover, Kent, which has now been demolished.
Furious locals have condemned Dover District Council, who flattened the building as part of a £25million regeneration scheme.
The Banksy artwork showed a workman chipping away one of the stars on the European Union flag.
It was painted on to the property in May 2017, almost a year after Britain voted in a referendum to leave the EU.
It was later whitewashed overnight in 2019 before elements were restored.
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Yet now its building in the coastal town has been knocked down - prompting fears over whether the art might ever be salvaged.
Dover District Council leader Kevin Mills insists some "bits" have been saved despite the work by contractors DDS Demolition.
And he revealed they were studying previous photos of the artwork to help restore its previous look.
He said: "We are working with the company to identify what can and can't be done with the bits that they've taken away.
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"The whole thing can't be saved anyway. It was a very old building."
He suggested the mural's yellow stars as well as its stencil of a man on a stepladder might be retrievable - but the blue aspects were "not able to be saved".
Mr Mills also said he was waiting for "feedback" from the construction firm.
We've got digital photographs so it's possible to duplicate something
Dover District Council leader Kevin Mills
He added: "What we've made sure is the council taxpayer isn't given a bill to try to maintain something we might not even be able to maintain or even salvage to some extent."
He said: "We’ve got digital photographs so it’s possible to duplicate something.
"What we need to see is what can or can’t be saved."
The demolition was part of planning works for the so-called "Dover Beacon" project, establishing a cultural, educational and business start-up centre in Bench Street.
Other features of the town to go as part of building works include a car park and a nightclub called Funky Monkey.
The Banksy mural was on a four-storey building knocked down this month as part of the new £25.4million project.
Liz Gibney, from the new building's architects Lee Evans Partnership, said of the scheme: "We are hoping this is going to raise aspirations for people in Dover, bring more creative people here and keep them in the district."
A spokeswoman for DDS Demolition told The Sun Online the remains of the mural were now with an art restorer who has previously worked on Banksy creations.
She said: "We can't confirm the state the picture will be in and how much we can salvage, but the intention is very much to be able to return it for display to the local community.
"Everything we had has been given over to the restorer.
"We were looking to salvage the picture so the building was taken down very carefully in an unusual way."
Dover District Council said their officials judged the artwork could not be "viably conserved" without a hefty bill for local taxpayers - but extra costs were now being met by the contractors.
The mural would now belong to DDS Demolition, they added, as attempts to save the artwork continue.
A council spokesperson added: "Given the detailed conservation process that needs to take place, it is likely to be some time before DDS Demolition will know if their attempts to conserve any elements of the Banksy have been successful.
"We are in discussions with DDS Demolition as to how any elements of the conserved Banksy could be put on display locally."
'GENIUS OR VANDAL'
A lost interview with Banksy recovered after 20 years has just appeared to suggest his real first name.
His true identity has never yet been confirmed, despite multiple reports previously identifying him as Robin Gunningham.
But a new clue has been given in a BBC Radio 4 show, The Banksy Story, including an interview he gave two decades ago.
Reports have suggested a looming court battle could reveal Banksy's real name.
He is being sued for almost £1.4million by Andrew Gallagher who made a business from selling images of his work through Full Colour Black.
The case follows a now-deleted Instagram post allegedly encouraging shoplifters to target high street fashion store Guess.
There have also been claims Banksy could be musician Robert del Naja, another graffiti artist and member of the band Massive Attack.
ITV show Art Attack's presenter Neil Buchanan denied being Banksy after a conspiracy theory swept the internet three years ago.
Banksy emerged on the art scene in the late 1990s, with his distinctive stencilled graffiti images.
A comprehensive list of his street work is shared here.
Among his recent additions is a mural in Margate in Kent, depicting a 1950s housewife wearing an apron and washing-up gloves while shoving a man into a freezer.
Previous pieces include a girl hula-hooping in Nottingham, "Kissing Coppers" in Brighton, "Hoodie With Knife" in London's Waterloo and the British Parliament shown as monkeys.
This last one sold at auction for £9.9million in October 2019.
One of his most famous creations, Girl With Balloon, seemed to self-destruct in a secret shredder when snapped up for £1million.
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There have been exhibitions of his artwork such as one titled "Genius Or Vandal" in Portugal's capital Lisbon.
Banksy also reportedly invested £1million to help save a struggling pub in Somerset earlier this year.
