Development to cover up Banksy mural? - PHOTOS

A local Bristol architect has voiced fears that a renowned mural by Banksy could be covered up if a nearby housing development gets the go-ahead.

Nick Childs, chairman of the Bristol Urban Design Forum, believes that the 10-year-old work called Mild Mild West could be obscured, according to the Bristol Evening Post.

The work sits on the side of a former solicitor's office in Stokes Croft. It depicts a teddy bear aiming a Molotov cocktail at riot police.

Developers Connolly and Callaghan want to build 80 units on land fronting onto Stokes Croft on one side and City Road on the other.

But the work will still be on view to the public via a glassed-area which will contain a cafe. The developers insist it will still be accessible for the public.

Childs told the paper: "Either way it will obscure the Banksy. It will mean it is no longer part of the public realm and that is the whole point of it."