Work to repair crumbling city centre artwork could be months away

It will also be paid for out of the council’s ‘maintenance fund’ for the area rather than the original project fund

Repairs to a huge artwork in Bristol’s centre which is “flaking quicker than expected” could be months away, with repainting not possible until the weather improves.

The ‘Our Common Ground’ floor painting, which covers a large area of the Promenade between the statue of Neptune and the Cascade Steps, has fallen into a sorry state since it was installed in September.

Some parts of the work have completely worn away, and others are much less vibrant than they were a few months ago.

Workers have already “retouched” the artwork once, in October, but Our Common Ground has become chipped and worn in places again since then. Further repair works must now wait until the weather improves – which could be months away.

Councillor Andrew Brown, chair of the Economy and Skills Committee, said: “The artwork “Our Common Ground” was created using road line marking paint on a tarmac surface. This is a durable material designed for high footfall areas and is used across the city.

“The artwork was retouched last October with costs covered from the original project fund. We intend to do more work to repair the damaged areas once the weather is warmer as the paint must be applied in dry conditions where the temperature is 10 degrees or higher.”

The artwork was installed at a cost of £61,00 – £31,000 of which was paid for by the council with the remaining £30,000 coming from the Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District. The street art has been painted in an area which experiences significant footfall and hosts the Harbourside Street Food Market four times a week.

As well as attracting higher numbers of pedestrians, market days also herald the arrival of traders in their vans, which has also contributed to wear and tear of the artwork.

While the October repairs came out of the original project fund, Cllr Brown (Lib Dem, Hengrove & Whitchurch Park) conceded ongoing maintenance for the artwork would need to be paid for out of the council’s maintenance budget for the city centre.

“The annual maintenance cost will be between £3,000 and £5,000 a year and paid for from the current annual maintenance budget for the area,” he said.

“While we have had assurances from the contractor who installed the artwork that the paint application met the technical application specifications, we are continuing to work with the supplier and contractor to understand why the paint is flaking at a quicker rate than expected.”

Our Common Ground was installed as part of a larger project to revitalise the Promenade which was mostly completed last year. The old disused fountains were filled in, cycle paths were resurfaced and damaged planters were repaired.

While the overall project was commissioned by the previous council administration, the current council signed off on the final design and artwork of Our Common Ground.

In a December 9 council meeting, Cllr Brown said: “This is a project that was inherited from the previous administration, and it should be noted that the whole programme of works is still to be completed, with both planters yet to be fully utilised and refreshed lighting also due to be installed.

However, I agree that the current look and feel of the area falls short of the flagship character we all want it to have.”