I was very disturbed to hear that yesterday the Banksy artwork on the wall of Palace Amusements in Folkestone was removed at the request of the Godden family who own the building. It is their intention that the artwork should be sold at private auction.
The Godden family have raised concerns about the maintenance of the Banksy mural, and state that this is the reason why it has been removed. It would have been much better if they had discussed this with people in the town before acting as they have.
I have written today to Jeremy Godden asking if we can meet to discuss an alternative solution that would allow the Banksy artwork to remain on public display in Folkestone, either at the same or a different location.
I also went down to where the artwork had formerly been and shared my thoughts, which you can see in this short video: Damian Collins on the removal of the Folkestone Banksy