Banksy artwork adds thousands to house prices in Sussex street

HOUSES in a Sussex street containing a Banksy painting fetch a far higher price than those in the surrounding area, it has been found.

Properties in Pelham Place on St Leonards seafront, where the anonymous artist chose to create his Tesco Sandcastle piece, are 170 per cent higher than houses elsewhere in the town.

The painting shows a toddler in a sun hat building a series of sandcastles. Most have the word "Tesco" written on them.

It appeared in August 2010, and Banksy confirmed it was a genuine piece later that month.

Hastings Borough Council was so pleased with the piece it covered it with a Perspex sheet to stop it being defaced.

The Tesco Sandcastle artwork by Banksy in Sy Leonards

But it is thought the protective covering may have aggravated some people in the street art community and mocking tags were sprayed over it the following month.

This action was attributed to Team Robbo – a group of unknown graffiti artists who have defaced several pieces of Banksy’s work.

But, despite being defaced, the artwork still appears to have had an impact on house prices on St Leonards seafront.

• READ MORE: Vandals deface Banksy's St Leonards painting

Houses in the area sell for an average price of £296,653, according to data from Zoopla and Streetlist.

However, homes in Pelham Place sold at almost three times this amount - fetching an average of £800,000.

This may also have something to do with its seafront location, however the study also found similar trends in other areas where there are Banksy artworks.

House prices in Pelham Place, St Leonards, which features a Banksy painting, are higher than those in the surrounding area

In Rothesay Avenue, Nottingham, where the artist painted his Hula Hooping Girl piece, the average price of houses is £2,684,580.

However, in the surrounding area, this figure is just £178,800, according to research by DIY community website Diys.com.

In October last year, there was outrage after a man went on Antiques Roadshow and tried to sell a piece of art taken from a wall in Brighton, that he claimed was a Banksy.

• READ MORE: Outrage as man appears to try to sell stolen Brighton Banksy on Antiques Roadshow

On the show, the man said: “I used to live in Brighton in the late 90s, early 2000s, and I was walking along Brighton seafront and I saw it on the lido (sic).

“It looked loose. I went over, pulled it off basically.

“(I gave it) a little bit of a tug.”

It is believed the piece was taken from the Black Rock or Saltdean Lido area.

The man tried to have the piece authenticated, which antiques expert Robert Maas told him could mean its value would shoot up to more than £20,000.

A man had a Banksy he had taken from Brighton valued on Antiques Roadshow Credit Antiques Roashow/BBC

But Banksy’s official authenticity website, called Pest Control, would not confirm it was a legitimate piece by the world’s most famous street artist.

A Brighton and Hove City Council told The Argus: “We are looking into the claims that this has been taken from somewhere along our city’s seafront.

“Removing street art from public spaces is not only criminal damage but can lead to safety hazards or closure of valuable amenities for our residents. It is a shameful act that is detrimental to the whole community and it will not be tolerated.”