The cost of restoring one of Dundee’s most striking pieces of street art would cost over £25,000, it has been revealed.
West End residents voiced concern that paintwork on the St Peter Street mural, which depicts the Tay Whale and Dundee docks among its references, had started to fade.
The mural on the side of the most northerly tenement in St Peter Street has been in place since 1982.
Dundee City Council’s planning officer, who deals with public art, has reported back on its condition in a letter to West End councillor Fraser Macpherson.
The letter states: “The mural is now over 30 years old, which is very unusual for a mural of this type. The mural was carried by a group called Artists Collective in 1982.
“The artists worked with the children of Blackness Primary School, who were involved in a Dundee history project.
“The gable at that time needed a lot of repair and, therefore, the mural costs (funded by SDA) such as the scaffolding costs were shared with the repair budget.
“Though the mural has faded in its brightness, it is still appears to be reasonably strong and readable. Unless the paint is showing signs deterioration and peeling off then it is better to leave it alone.
“To refresh the whole surface with new paint, we should consider a budgetof well over £25,000,” the letter reveals.
However, the mural is unlikely to have a makeover any time soon as the officer suggests “little to no action” in the short term.
Mr Macpherson was pleased the inspection had shown the painting had not taken too much of a battering from the elements.
He said: “A few residents over a period of months had made the comment that the mural has clearly faded to some extent and wondered if it was in need of a repaint, so that was why I asked the expert on the matter what he felt.
“It’s quite an iconic piece of public art and it’s important that it’s preserved in the future. I’m pleased that it is being inspected, because the last thing we want is for it to be lost.”