A PRESSURE group is to seek to have the Newport Chartist mural listed by Cadw.

If Cadw give the move the go-ahead by the 20th Century Society the Friar's Walk developers are likely to face restrictions on what they can and cannot do with the art work.

Meanwhile the son of the original artist Kenneth Budd said he was saddened every time he heard about the planned demolition of his father's "best work".

More than 1,000 people have already signed a petition to save the mural which the former Tory/Lib Dem administration at Newport council decided to demolish following a consultation.

A proposal to recreate a replica on the wall of the museum and library had received the most support from the public, according to the authority.

The society's Henrietta Billings told the Argus that the society is fighting a national campaign to highlight the vulnerability of this kind of public art.

She said the artist had spent a year researching the history of the story behind the mural and is made up of 200,000 bits of ceramic and glass tile.

"Our preference would be to keep the original in some way," she said, explaining that in several cases listed murals have been saved where buildings have been demolished.

The group will make the formal request to the Welsh heritage agency early this month.

Oliver Budd, the son of mural artist Kenneth Budd, told the Argus yesterday that he would like to see the mural remain where it is.

However he said he was "pragmatic" and that it wasn't a cut and dry situation – he had agreed for a "facsimile" of the mural to be made if the mural could not be preserved for financial reasons.

"Every time I hear about it I'm saddened. It's one of my fathers best pieces of work," he said.

"But I'm also very pragmatic and I know development has to happen... I'm not a Luddite."

He said the piece is "historically incredibly accurate" and is one of the largest mosaics in the British Isles.

The Argus contacted the Newport council for comment today but the authority did not provide one.