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Banksy’s Dismaland pinwheel to move to town centre site
Banksy's Dismaland, evening and sunset. - Credit: Archant
Banksy’s pinwheel from Dismaland will be relocated to Weston-super-Mare’s town centre after tens of thousands of pounds is spent on its refurbishment.
The iconic seaside pinwheel was gifted to Weston from the internationally-recognised graffiti artist following the bemusement park which popped up at the town’s Tropicana in 2015.
It will now be displayed in the town centre thanks to an injection of £50,000 from the Government’s Coastal Revival Fund.
MORE: The winner of a Dismaland competition donated the money to a refugee charity.
The announcement will allow North Somerset Council to move the pinwheel from storage to the town centre, securing Banksy’s legacy in the town.
When the show closed after its five-week run-time, the pinwheel remained at the Tropicana and was displayed in the same place as it was during the event for the first few years.
But in 2017 it was spotted lying by the side of one of the walls and could only be seen by people visiting the venue.
Now, the seven-metre-high sculpture will be refurbished and relocated to the Italian Gardens.
MORE: Relive the magic and see Dismaland in pictures.
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The council has revealed a string of on-going programmes and activities will also continue with its relocation.
It will be moved to its new home – within the town’s Heritage Action Zone – over the next few months in time for the summer season.
The move will come at the same time as a host of other works in the town centre including improvements to the public realm in South Parade and a future bus interchange at Alexandra Parade.
The Italian Gardens and the Heritage Action Zone are part of the Weston Town Centre Regeneration Programme which is delivering improvement to key sites within the town and encouraging inward investment.
The council recently gave the green light for alterations to be made to the conservation zone which, now it has been approved, will open it up to receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of grants.
The Mercury broke the international news back in 2015 when Banksy exclusively told the paper his plans to help revive the former lido with his theme park.
The park attracted thousands of people including A-list celebrities.
It has since been used for events such as Hazy Days, Icescape, Funland, food festivals and various music gigs.