Edward Colston statue to return to M Shed Museum in 2024

The statue was put on temporary display but has been out of public view since January last year

The statue of transatlantic slave trader Edward Colston will go back on display at a museum next year.

In his blog, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees says it will be included in a new M Shed Museum exhibition on protest.

It was pulled down during a protest in 2020 and put on temporary display, but has been out of public view since January 2022.

Mr Rees said the decision was made after 14,000 people responded to a city-wide consultation.

"The vast majority (80 per cent) of Bristol residents who responded agreed that the best place for the statue in the future was in one of our museums," he said.

"To help make this a reality, an application to regularise the legal position of the listed asset, away from its plinth, has recently been submitted which will go to a planning committee early in the new year."

Mr Rees said the application was submitted following discussions with Historic England.

"Understanding our history remains as important as ever," he added.

The exhibition is expected to open in The People's Gallery at the M Shed Museum, on the city's harbourside, in March 2024.