Lion will take pride of place in St Andrew Square Garden

Parliament bosses, however, have repeatedly rejected calls to include it in their art collection and are now insisting it must be moved when the arrangement for its current location expires on 1 April.

Talks are now under way to relocate the lion to St Andrew Square Garden, which was opened up to the public two years ago after a 2.6 million revamp.

Negotiations between sculptor Ronald Rae and Essential Edinburgh, the company that manages the garden, have not yet concluded. But Mr Rae's administrator, Pauline MacDonald, said they would be "delighted" to see the sculpture in such a prominent public place.

She said: "It's the hub of Edinburgh, shoppers will pass the lion as they walk about, children will be able to climb on it, people will be able to sit and have a cup of tea and look at it."

Mr Rae, who is based in Cramond, carved the 17ft-long lion in 2002 and several MSPs who saw it said it would be an appropriate piece of art for the parliament. But Holyrood's art advisory group showed little interest.

Pressure for the lion to be given a permanent home at the parliament increased when it became part of a year-long exhibition of Mr Rae's works in Holyrood Park in 2006.

More than 2,000 people signed a petition and parliament bosses eventually agreed a compromise – allowing the lion to stay for a limited period, but not on parliament land and not as part of its collection.

Despite the controversy, Ms MacDonald said she and Mr Rae did not want any more animosity. She said: "Sculpture is about giving and we want people to enjoy it. We want to be positive and look forward.

"It looked wonderful where it was, but it will look equally wonderful in St Andrew Square."