So, is it goodbye to Banksy? I very much doubt it. In fact Westminster Council has probably done him a favour. Since when would an outlaw have wanted the approval of the sort of bureaucracy that puts waste disposal operatives instead of dustbin men on our streets?

After death, banning is about the best thing that can happen to an artist. Remember the Brit pack in America? The bad boys (and girls) of our cultural scene were all but unheard of until New York’s mayor, Rudy Giuliani, declared their work obscene. Once the demure Sam Taylor Wood and Chris “elephant dung” Ofili had been confined to the naughty corner, their reputations were assured.

Banksy has come very close to losing his street cred. The cultural guerrilla had come into the gallery. And putting his images up for sale deprived them in large part of their point. It wasn’t just the cheek that made his work delightful. It was also that he offered us his talent free. Such generosity seemed almost a terrorist attack on expectations.

But then the dealers cottoned on. One of his stencilled pieces fetched a record price of £288,000 at auction. Blur used him for an album cover. Angelina Jolie collected him. And that was the end. His cultish graffiti “tag” was turned from a cheeky two fingers in the face of authority into a commercial brand.

Westminster Council is turning its back on a rich source of revenue as it announces plans to whitewash over Banksy’s works. It is probably being rather foolish. Think of how many extra parking fines it will have to collect instead. But Bansky shouldn’t be disappointed. It helps to keep his work fresh.

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