Gorleston Banksy could be sold off by cash-strapped council
The artwork was painted onto the side of Gorleston’s yacht pond in 2021.
Last updated 30th Sep 2025
A mural sprayed on the Norfolk seafront by the mysterious Banksy could be sold off by the local cash-strapped council, earning it millions of pounds.
The artwork was painted onto the side of Gorleston’s yacht pond in 2021 as part of the artist’s ‘Great British Spraycation’ series, which saw him create a total of 10 works in the region.
Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which owns the pond, has proposed selling off the image, which depicts two children drifting skywards in a dinghy being overinflated by an adult.
It removed the artwork by cutting out a section of the wall in 2022 and it has since been in storage at a restoration firm in Lincolnshire.
Other artworks from the Spraycation series have already been sold, fetching up to £2m.
GYBC officials acknowledge selling the Banksy artwork risks “reputational damage” and said any sale would need to be undertaken in a “transparent way”.
But any funds raised would be a welcome boost to the council’s coffers, which has had to make a number of cuts to staffing and its services in recent years.
The money would also be ringfenced for projects in the Gorleston area.
The piece proved controversial at the time and officials decided to quickly paint over the mural citing what they saw as parallels with the death of Ava-May Littleboy, who died in July 2018 when an inflatable trampoline at Gorleston beach burst.
It is understood Banksy apologised to Ava-May’s family via a third party following the controversy and the image was later removed from online promotional material the artist had shared online for the Great British Staycation series.
However, the council decided to remove the entire wall section and restore the artwork, in a process costing £14,105. It cost a further £7,623 to repair the wall.
GYBC officials had considered displaying the artwork in the town’s Time and Tide museum, but decided it would be insensitive in the light of Ava-May’s death.
They have now proposed selling off the piece via an auction or private sale and have already consulted with Dutch-based auctioneer Richard Hessink.
Councillors will discuss the proposals at a meeting next week.
They will also discuss what to do with another artwork from the same series – an arcade claw grabber painted on a beach shelter.
The council has ruled out selling the work – which is already covered with a Perspex screen – but is considering spending around £5,000 on further protection measures.
Officers said in a report that extracting the artwork to be sold would require demolishing and rebuilding the beach shelter.
They also said doing so would risk upsetting the public, due to the artwork being a “high-profile and cherished example” that attracts tourists and locals alike.
Other murals created as part of the Spraycation series have been sold privately.
In Lowestoft, a homeowner removed the wall of his house in order to sell a mural of a seagull painted on it.
It is believed it fetched millions through a private sale.
However, the move sparked anger in the town, with locals saying the artwork had been “stolen” from the local community.
The owner of Merrivale Model Village also made £1m after auctioning off a miniature thatched stable on which Banksy had scrawled “Go Big or Go Home”.
Another Lowestoft Banksy mural, of a child with a crowbar daubed on the side of a shop , is thought to have fetched £2m in a private sale in the UK, after plans to auction the piece in California fell through.