An iconic mosaic inspired by the work of photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge could soon be back on display in Kingston town centre.

The Muybridge Mosaic in Castle Street was taken down after new shop owners Pret A Manger knocked down the wall it was placed on to make way for large windows.

Environmental group Save the World Club, who produced and designed the mosaic, has now applied to Kingston Council to place the piece of art at the side of the Rose Theatre in Emms Passage.

Save the World founding member Des Kay said: “It has been in storage for quite a while.

“There was no choice in the matter. It was definitely one of the best mosaics we have done so it will be great to have it back on public display.

“It’s not the most public of places compared to Castle Street, but with it being part of Kingston’s heritage and connected to somebody in films and culture I think it’s very appropriate next to the theatre.”

He added the group was “shocked” when they originally discovered they would have to take down the mosaic, but cafe owners Pret had promised to help with the costs of putting the mosaic up elsewhere.

A decision on the planning application for the mosaic, initially unveiled a decade ago, will be made by council officers.

In 2011 town centre managers Kingstonfirst helped donate to a £3,000 project to restore the mosaic which had fallen into disrepair.

Eadweard Muybridge was the pioneer of moving photography and invented his famous machine, a zoo- praxiscope.

Earlier this year developers of the new Riverside Kingston restaurant development, Canadian and Portland Estates, unveiled a building with stills from Kingston-born Muybridge’s Human Figures in Motion project, carried out in the mid-1880s.