A dispute over the creation of a popular town mural has erupted in Neath Port Talbot after the owners of a local building said they were never asked for permission to paint it. The mural, which depicts the celebrated 19th-century engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel on the side of a building on Neath Road in Briton Ferry, was unveiled earlier this year by Councillor Gareth Rice of Briton Ferry East. Rice self-funded the project, which he said was aimed at bringing “something positive” to the town.
Mural to be painted over after ownership dispute
In a social media post made in June 2026, Cllr Rice announced that the mural would now be painted over following a dispute with the owners of the property, who say they were never consulted about the plans. Rice wrote: “After approximately two years of planning, saving, and pouring my heart into something positive for Briton Ferry, I’ve been told I must now paint over the much-loved Brunel mural.
“I want to be completely open about what’s happened. I envisaged and created this mural for the community. I funded it myself. I genuinely believed I had sought and received the correct permission – I spoke directly with the person(s) I understood to be the owners of the building and acted in good faith throughout. I thought I had done everything right. Only after the mural was completed did another joint owner – someone I didn’t know existed – come forward. She was, and remains, very unhappy, and has since reported both me and the mural to the police as criminal damage. She has also insisted that it be removed immediately.”
Community reaction and petition
The public post led to the creation of an online petition this month, as well as drawing in hundreds of comments from residents who were in support of keeping the mural in its place. In a follow-up post, Cllr Rice said that while he was disappointed with the decision to remove the mural, he respected the owner’s right to make decisions about their own property. He also called for people to be respectful, noting that his post never intended to create animosity, saying: “I will now be looking for alternative locations to see if there is anywhere suitable for a replacement or a similar project in the future.”
Property owner's statement
The owners of the Briton Ferry property have also spoken out about the situation, saying they should not have been put in this position. They stated that they were the only owners of the building and that the completion of the work came as a surprise to them. In response to a public post, they said: “In the two years that AJ Wilson Property Ltd have owned this property we never granted any permission for this project to go ahead. Whilst working abroad I received a photograph showing a completed mural to which I was obviously very surprised about.”
