#garethrice — Public Fediverse posts

BRITON FERRY MURAL: Building owner breaks silence as councillor urges calm

The owner of the Briton Ferry building at the heart of the Brunel mural row has broken her silence — saying she was never asked for permission, and will not be pressured into letting it stay.

The colourful artwork, celebrating engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, has sparked an extraordinary wave of support since news broke that it must be painted over.

Hundreds of people flooded Cllr Gareth Rice’s original Facebook post with messages, many calling the mural a bright, welcoming entrance to the town and pleading for it to be saved.

Now the building’s owner has had her say.

In a public post, Amy Wilson said she owns the property through her company, AJ Wilson Property Ltd, and that no permission was ever given.

“In the two years that AJ Wilson Property Ltd have owned this property we never granted any permission for this project to go ahead,” she wrote.

She also rejected any suggestion that there was another co-owner who objected after the work was done. “There are no co-owners whatsoever,” she said.

Ms Wilson said the mural had come as a complete surprise. “Whilst working abroad I received a photograph showing a completed mural, to which I was obviously very surprised about,” she wrote, adding that she then spent weeks trying to find out who was responsible.

She said she had since faced abuse online, with her personal details shared and the police contacted — and that it had only stiffened her resolve.

“Due to the abuse I’ve received on here, I won’t be forced into allowing this mural to stay,” she said.

Cllr Rice, who funded the mural himself and has said he believed he had the correct permission, has since posted again — this time appealing for calm.

He said his original post had “never intended to create anger or animosity towards anyone, including the owners of the building”.

“They have made their wishes known, and although I’m saddened by the outcome, I respect their right to make decisions about their own property,” he wrote.

He urged people to stay respectful, adding: “We are a strong community, and we can show that even in disappointment.”

He also said he was now looking for another site for a future mural, with the response showing the appetite for public art in the town was “stronger than ever”.

The strength of feeling was clear in the hundreds of comments left under the original post.

Among them was the broadcaster and weather presenter Sian Lloyd, who has roots in the area. “This lovely kind of mural is exactly what’s needed to make us aware of the things that count in life,” she wrote.

She said she had lived in Llansawel — the Welsh name for Briton Ferry — as a little girl, and was “both heartbroken and indignant about this awful situation”.

Many others described stopping to admire the mural on their way through the town, with several urging that a way be found to keep it.

The mural was painted by street artist Jenks, whose work brightens walls across the region.

Cllr Rice has also been keen to stress that the building’s tenants, a local kitchens and bedrooms business, have nothing to do with the dispute.

For now, the Brunel mural’s days appear numbered — and a community that has fallen for it waits to see if anything can still be done.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Briton Ferry’s Brunel mural to be whitewashed within weeks
How the dispute over the much-loved artwork first emerged.

Artist Jenks transforms Llanelli seafront wall
The street artist behind the Briton Ferry mural.

BRITON FERRY: Town’s much-loved Brunel mural to be whitewashed within weeks after ownership dispute

A much-loved community mural in Briton Ferry is to be painted over within weeks, after a dispute over permission to put it up.

The artwork, celebrating engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the town’s heritage, fills the entire side of a building at the entrance to the town.

It was the idea of local councillor Gareth Rice, who says he spent around two years planning, saving for and funding the project himself.

In a public statement, Cllr Rice said he had now been told he must whitewash the mural — and described himself as “gutted”.

He said he had believed he held the correct permission, having spoken to the person or people he understood to be the owners of the building, and that he had acted in good faith throughout.

Only after the mural was finished, he said, did another joint owner — whom he says he had not known about — come forward objecting to it and asking for it to be removed.

He said the joint owner has reported both him and the mural to the police as alleged criminal damage.

No further details of any police involvement have been made public, and the position of the joint owner is not known.

Cllr Rice said he had transformed the surrounding area from overgrown wasteland into a landscaped space over the same period, intending it as a welcoming entrance to the town and a fitting setting for the artwork.

The mural was painted by street artist Jenks, whose community murals have appeared across the region, from Llanelli’s seafront to Port Talbot.

Cllr Rice paid tribute to the artist, calling the finished piece “a masterpiece that lifted the whole community”.

He was also keen to stress that the tenants of the building, a local kitchens and bedrooms business, had nothing to do with the dispute and had been supportive throughout.

The timing, he said, had been especially hard. Only the day before he was told the mural must go, he had been with the Friends of Jersey Park as the group received a King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

He said that during the ceremony, the Lord-Lieutenant — the King’s representative in the county — had remarked on how lovely it was to drive into Briton Ferry and see the mural and its nod to the town’s heritage.

A veteran of military service and a former firefighter, Cllr Rice said the situation had affected him more than he expected — not because of the mural itself, but because of what it had come to mean to people.

He said the response from residents had shown how much the community valued public art and colour in the town.

Cllr Rice has invited people to photograph the mural before it is covered, saying he has been instructed it must be gone within a week or two.

He also said he hoped to create similar artwork elsewhere in future — in the right place, and with full permission.

“This isn’t the end,” he said. “If anything, it’s the beginning of something bigger — something we can create together, in the right place, with the right permissions.”

The joint owner of the building, who has not been identified, could not be reached for comment.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Briton Ferry volunteers honoured with King’s Award
The Friends of Jersey Park recognised with the UK’s highest award for volunteer groups.

Artist Jenks transforms Llanelli seafront wall
The five-panel community mural the street artist funded himself.

The Briton Ferry coastal path closure
Councillors demand action over a long-closed stretch of the estuary path.