A SOUTHAMPTON road is getting a colourful facelift bringing a new vibrancy to what would be a dull area.
Carlton Place in Bedford Place is being transformed over the next few days and will add a pop of colour where many would least expect.
Southampton City Council and GO! Southampton have partnered up to deliver a road painting project to further enhance the pedestrianised area of Bedford Place.
The project is being funded by GO! Southampton which will see the installation of an interactive ‘grid’ design that will be laid out on sections of Bedford Place and Carlton Place.
Once complete, local schoolchildren, artists and traders will then be invited to put their personal stamp on the artwork by ‘colouring in’ sections of the grid.
The designs are temporary and will support the pedestrianisation scheme, which will continue to be trialled over the summer to support the reopening of local non-essential retail and hospitality venues from April 12 at the earliest.
The scheme has been met with heaps of support by local businesses in the area who welcome the unique feature.
John Cooney, owner of The Cricketers pub, said that businesses in the area are "100 per cent supportive" of what the team have done.
"They have shown courage and initiative," he said.
"This includes the art work on the concrete bollards and the recent road painting.
"Of course the painting is subjective and may not meet everyone’s personal aesthetic tastes."
Owner of Piecaramba, Phil Linssen, said: "I, and many other businesses are excited to get open again to the general public for outside dining.
"And we are all a lot more confident now the area has been spruced up. Southampton needed an area with colour and personality."
Kyle Wilks, of Smugglers Southampton, added: "The Council and BID have devoted a great deal of time and effort to support local businesses and to make the area more appealing to visitors and I believe most other traders in the area are in support of the scheme.
"This summer will be a crucial time for local companies and we welcome the support from schemes like this which will help us to get back on our feet after a very difficult year."
A Southampton City Council spokesperson said:
“Schemes like this help us to think differently about how we use our local streets, creating a safer, greener and more vibrant space where people can move around freely and enjoy spending time eating, drinking and shopping.
"This interactive road painting project aims to enhance this even further, bringing a temporary, additional splash of colour to the area and giving people ownership over the space by inviting them to get involved in the artwork itself.
"The project also makes a valuable contribution to our goal to make art more accessible in the public realm and of course to our ambitious bid to be named City of Culture in 2025.”
Giles Semper, Executive Director of GO! Southampton, said:
“I absolutely love Amanda Moore’s artwork in Carlton Place and especially the fact that it will ‘grow’ as we involve the local community in colouring different sections.
"We are grateful to her and to another local artist Slam Daniels who is installing the work. The people of the city can expect to see more of this kind of public artwork as we get near to submitting our bid to be UK City of Culture 2025.
"The Daily Echo is of course a media partner of the UK City of Culture bid and as such we know the paper supports initiatives like this to bring culture and life to the city’s streets.”
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