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Lowestoft house wall being rebuilt after Banksy mural removed

Reuters gull muralReuters
The seagull artwork, painted by the street artist, appeared on the building in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in August 2021

A side of a house is being rebuilt after a wall featuring a Banksy mural was removed.

The seagull artwork, painted by the street artist, appeared on the building in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in August 2021.

Scaffolding and covers were put up in February and the exterior brickwork, on which the mural was painted, was taken down in May.

New images show the wall of the property, on the corner of Denmark Road and Katwijk Way, is being replaced.

The mural was one of three painted in Lowestoft as part of Banksy's Great British Staycation collection, which appeared in different locations across Norfolk and Suffolk.

It was originally painted next to a skip containing strips of insulation to represent chips, but that feature was removed to deter fly-tipping.

The wall being rebuilt on the side of the house on the corner of Denmark Road and Katwijk Way, Lowestoft
Work has started to rebuild wall of the property, where a Banksy mural once was

Garry Freeman, of building firm Freeman Brickworks - which carried out the structural removal - previously said the mural had gone into storage, "somewhere in the UK", but could not confirm whether it would be sold or included in any exhibitions.

He said at the time that the wall had been in need of structural repair before Banksy painted the mural.

A video showed part of the wall being craned out in the middle of the night last month.

The mural was removed with a crane

It is not known whether the seagull mural would join other removed Banksy murals which will be on display in more formal settings in Suffolk this summer as part of The Urban Frame - Mutiny in Colour exhibition.

Sandcastle Girl, removed from an old shop in Lowestoft, will be displayed at Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds from this Saturday until 1 October.

Hula-Hoop Girl, which was discovered in Nottingham, will be exhibited at The National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket from Saturday.

Banksy pieces will also be put on display at Haverhill Arts Centre, from 15 July.

The BBC has previously tried to contact the building's owner for comment.

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