Mural plan for graffiti-tagged wall at listed site

Plans have been submitted to replace graffiti on the side of a listed building with a commissioned mural.

The artwork on the side of 54 Monkgate in York would feature imagery inspired by the history of the surrounding area including the Grey Coat School and Monkgate & Jersey Dairy Company.

The wall of the Grade II listed, 19th-Century building which faces onto Agar Street has been tagged with graffiti since at least 2009.

Applicant Duncan Marks, of the York Civic Trust, said a high-quality mural would attract less graffiti than the blank rendering which has been repeatedly applied to the wall in recent years.

York Civic Trust, the local Business Improvement District, ward councillors and York St John University have all aided the development of the plans.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the concept design drawn up for the mural features the silhouette of a young girl carrying books, but plans stated the details of the design were not final.

The application said research had shown similar artwork elsewhere had made buildings less attractive to potential vandals.

"The mural is intended to contribute positively to the experience of Agar Street by replacing recurrent graffiti tags with a coherent, community-informed artwork," the plans said.

"Murals can provide placemaking and communal value where quality, location and local narrative are carefully considered."

The plans follow the unveiling of a mural depicting a fox wearing a flat cap with a jar of Bile Beans in The Groves earlier this month.

Paintings on utility boxes designed by children from five schools were unveiled across the Holgate area in June in a separate project.

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