Question marks hang over best place to display mural

The mural was created by local arts group Common Ground Arts to celebrate the history and culture of the local community, and was originally intended for the wall of Queensferry Library.

However, no-one was quite prepared for how impressive the final result would be.

Mike Spring, of Common Ground Arts, said: "When the mural was put on display last autumn everyone thought it was too magnificent to hang in such a low-profile location, so the hunt is now on to find a more prominent place to display it.

"The biggest problem we have is funding.

"I couldn't put a figure on how much it cost to make, but you're basically talking about two paid staff working with community groups for three years so the cost stretched into the thousands.

"It was going to cost us around 2,000 to prepare the wall at Queensferry Library, and every location we've looked at so far would have required us to build a purpose-built wall to hang it on which would have been an even greater expense.

"Various locations have been considered but the vital spot, the one that would give it the greatest exposure, has not yet been found."

The 15 metre-long mural depicts various aspects of Queensferry's history and community, and is made up of 25 individual patches covered in various materials with a symbolic connection to the area.

Mr Spring added: "There are panels depicting the two Forth bridges, panels depicting the shore and the boats that sail from it, and a panel depicting the priory. There are also a few abstract panels using various materials which represent the community's history, such as sea shells, objects found along the shore, and abstract shapes depicting the course of the High Street.

"There is also a panel depicting the Burry Man, the local figure who has walked the streets of Queensferry every August for as long as anyone can remember collecting money for charity."

Common Ground Arts received money from the Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh Council, Big Lottery and the Garfield Weston Foundation to create the mural, but requests for further funding to find or create a place to display it have so far fallen on deaf ears.

Tom Martin, chairman of Queensferry and District Community Council, said: "There's a great deal of time and effort gone into this mural. It's resulted in a splendid piece of work that's left us with the problem of where to place it.

"The main problem we will have is maintenance, as it will be a public display and it will require someone to make sure that it is cared for and maintained.

"We have nominated a dedicated member of the community council who is tasked with finding a place for it. There are one or two locations that we have a preference for – including a spot on the promenade – but the logistics are proving a little bit tricky."