Eco group paint over mural by refugees

Published: 08 July, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

A LARGE section of an historic mural in Primrose Hill has been painted over by an environmentalist group, sparking fury from neighbours.

The mural, which runs alongside the railway line in King Henry’s Road, was painted by Chilean refugees who fled to Camden following the brutal overthrow of their democratic government in a military coup in 1973.

The image has been celebrated by residents as a unique piece of history but last week a section disappeared under white paint.

Transition Primrose Hill were given permission from owners Network Rail to create a new mural with a theme of a biodiversity, displaying images of wildlife from Primrose Hill park.

The project was initially intended to involve children from Haverstock, Primrose Hill and St Paul’s schools, but was changed to an adult scheme due to scheduling problems.

It has now been halted following the outcry, but people living opposite the historic image are furious that a section has disappeared without consultation. One of them, Bee Thompson, said: “The mural may have been old and faded but it was very political and had a very important historic significance. What we have is an important example of early community street art which is an important landmark in this area.”

David Birkett, who runs an estate agent in Regent’s Park Road, added: “This group is self-appointed and has chosen this location for a mural without any real consultation.”

But Anna Locke, a member of Transition Primrose Hill, said the group had consulted with residents at the Primrose Hill summer fair and had put information notices up along the wall.

She added: “None of us had any idea of the significance of the mural, but that was 40 years ago and the metal work is now in a state of disrepair. The idea is to have a beautiful image of the flora and fauna that we have right now on Primrose Hill. 

“That is the concept, but we’re still in the early stages. Nobody’s going to go ahead with anything until we have done further consultation.”

A meeting will be held at 6pm today (Thursday) next to the wall to discuss the project.

Primrose Hill councillor Chris Naylor: “I’m very supportive of the Transition movement but it seems a real shame that Network Rail, whose wall it is, didn’t point out to them that this was a really special mural.”

A Network Rail spokesman said: “Network Rail was approached by Transition Primrose Hill for permission to repaint the iron wall along the railway side of King Henry’s Road, Primrose Hill with the help of local schoolchildren. We agreed to their request, with the conditions that we reserve the right to carry out maintenance work on our structure and will not be responsible for any making good to the painting in future.”