Children and young people around Catterick are using their creative skills to produce imaginative artwork to adorn the hoardings of an exciting new development for the town centre.
Work to deliver a £21 million scheme to create a new town centre for the garrison town begins this autumn.
The scheme, which has won government funding, will see the area around Shute Road redeveloped to include a community and enterprise building as well as improvements to Coronation Park.
Children from local schools in Catterick, Colburn and Hipswell have been asked to create images for the hoardings - and last week children attending the PT Childcare Club and North Yorkshire Together’s FEAST programme, at Le Cateau Primary School turned their hand to artwork.
They picked up their paintbrushes and pencils as they were given the freedom to produce anything including poems, designs for what they want to see created around the new building and park, and ideas for pieces of public art. The central theme they were asked to follow is ‘things that make them happy’.
Executive member for culture, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “The children have come up with some great pieces of artwork which will now be blown up and put on the hoardings for all to see. This is a very exciting project for the town and one that we are keen to have the input of people of all ages into.”
The authority’s member champion for the armed forces, and local councillor, Cllr Kevin Foster, added: “It was really great to hear the children’s view on what they would like to see in the park and interact with them. They were excited about the development and their artwork was really thought provoking.
“It is our aim to have a fantastic development that will benefit the children and indeed their children for years to come.”
The scheme includes a new town square on Shute Road, a new pedestrian ramp connecting the development to Richmond Road and a Community and Enterprise building. There will also be landscaping improvements, upgrades to Coronation Park and Shute Road, improved play spaces, accessible routes to the town centre and better footpaths and cycleways.
We are working with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to bring the proposals to fruition, using government funding and match-funding from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and ourselves.