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Rail mural to be unveiled

A mural which has taken months to complete, will be unveiled on Saturday, on the proposed site of the next Portishead railway station.

Pure Offices at Kestrel Court has been working with the Portishead Railway Group (PRG), Crest Nicholson and Persimmon Homes to promote the campaign for the re-opening of the Portishead to Bristol rail link.

Last year the businesses commissioned professional artist Aili Purdy, who lives in Portishead, to paint a 38ft mural for the site, to help raise awareness of the campaign.

Organisers hope the work of art will be added to the Portishead Art Trail.

North Somerset MP Dr Liam Fox will unveil the mural at around 2pm but there will be community stalls, live music and refreshments available from 12.30pm at the site adjacent to the Travel Lodge and Lidl car park in Harbour Road.

Last month reopening the railway link was named as a priority with the Joint Transport Executive Committee (JTEC), which is made up of representatives from councils across the west.

Get permission or its the end of line for Portishead railway mural

Campaigners who put up a mural in Portishead highlighting the need to reopen the railway line to the town have been forced to apply for planning permission for it to remain in place.

The 40ft mural was placed on land in Harbour Road earmarked for a new station in April in a bid to raise awareness of the need for a rail link in the growing town.

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The mural on Harbour Road which depicts the ^railway story^ of Portishead. But railway campaigners have been told it needs planning permission

The mural, costing in the region of ^6,000, was jointly funded by the Portishead Railway Group (PRG), Pure Offices and dock developer Crest Nicholson ^ which owns the site ^ and house builder Persimmon.

But the issue of whether the mural could remain came into question earlier this year when concerns were raised it had been put up without planning permission.

The Portishead Railway Group said it had checked with North Somerset Council planning officers on a number of occasions before the mural went up and were told, because it was a piece of art, planning permission was not needed.

Other artwork installed across the new developments in the town over the last seven years has been installed without planning permission.

However, authority planning chiefs have now ruled permission is required and a retrospective planning permission for the wooden structure on which the mural sits has now been submitted by the railway group.

Portishead Railway Group chairman Alan Matthews, said: ^We hope that retrospective planning permission will be agreed so the mural can remain in place. I think this is just a case of ticking all the relevant boxes. The mural is getting national and international recognition and has already appeared in the local newspaper in Portishead^s twin town of Den Dungen in Holland. It would be a dreadful shame if it had to come down.^

The design tells the ^railway story^ of the North Somerset town, from 1867 and into the future with trains using the line again. It shows the history of the line and plans for its future and also features artwork depicting the arrival of the broad gauge line in the town.

The mural ^ designed by local artist Aili Purdy ^ also embodies images from the past, present and future of Portishead and the surrounding area. Included are the first train to Portishead in 1867, the High Street in 1890, a 1909 horse carriage, a diesel railcar from 1954, the modern marina, and a future train and station.

Once the new station is built, when the railway is open, the mural will be taken down and put in the station.

North Somerset Council spokesman Nick Yates, said: ^The mural needs planning permission. The group has now submitted an application which will be considered in the normal way.^

It^s curtains for railway mural

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Liam Fox MP with Alan Matthew and artist Aili Purdy when the mural was first unveiled.

A mural marking the preferred site of Portishead railway station will be removed from public display this weekend.

Members of Portishead Railway Group (PRG), who will dismantle the 38 ft structure over two days, are now looking for a new home for the work of art.

The eight-panel mural, by local artist Aili Purdy, depicts Portishead, past, present and future and has marked the spot, next to the Lidl car park in Harbour Road, originally outlined for the station, since its completion in April 2012.

PRG says the removal of the mural has nothing to do with the current controversy over where the station will be located.

Vice-chairman of the group, Colin Howells, said: ^PRG wants to make it clear the decision to take down the mural was taken some time ago and is not as a result of the current station location discussions. It has been subject to two fierce winters and the framework is beginning to show its age.

^Persimmon Homes has covered the cost of public liability insurance until the end of year but when it expires the liability would become the responsibility of PRG, and as a voluntary campaign group we cannot take on that responsibility.^

Members of PRG are appealing to the public not to park directly in front of the mural on Saturday or Sunday so their work will not be hindered.

Mr Howells added: ^PRG and the artist have received many compliments about the mural over the past two years and removing it was a difficult decision to make but unfortunately wooden structures do not last forever.^

PRG is keen to hear from any individual or organisation who would like the mural. For more details email portisheadrail@aol.com