Plans to preserve the Banksy spy mural in Cheltenham have been backed by the town’s architectural guardians.

An application was submitted to Cheltenham Borough Council last month to request that the Spy Booth graffiti was turned into a listed piece of artwork.

Now, the Cheltenham Civic Society has backed a vote to give the Fairview artwork untouchable status.

A spokesman said: “It is witty, has captured the public imagination and is a suitable reminder of the presence of GCHQ in the town.”

The painting appeared on the side of a grade II-listed terraced house in Fairview Road in April and has become the centre of controversy after it was vandalised.

Somebody also seemingly tried to remove the wall the artwork is on from the inside, and damage has been caused to parts of the wall around the mural on the outside.

Millionaire former architect, Hekmat Kaveh, submitted the application to the council’s planning team to give the piece listed status and has offered to pay for any repairs to the render if necessary.

He said: “Some of us are looking at preserving it to bring tourism and business into the town.

“I would like to see it stay in this particular area because it doesn’t get the same attention as say Montpellier or the town centre.

“I certainly don’t believe in removing street art, especially artwork of this calibre, and I believe it should stay in the street and not in a museum.”

In Folkestone, Kent, an application has also been made to preserve another Banksy work called ‘Art Buff’.

In the meantime, a further application is likely to be made in Cheltenham to cover the spy mural with impenetrable glass, once it has been restored.

Mr Kaveh added: “I am afraid life is all about compromise and, if you leave the mural exposed, we have already seen what can happen to it.

“Giving it listed status will not stop people from taking a can of spray paint to it but it will stop anyone trying to remove it.”

The wall is owned by Gloucestershire County Council, and it has served a notice to the Highways Agency and the owner of the house, David Possee, to make them aware of this.

Mark Godson, a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, described the mural as “internationally important”.