Kids' underpass project displays design in depth
Pedestrians using a newly painted underpass might be forgiven for getting a sinking feeling – but they don't have to worry about getting wet.
The subway at Bath Lane in Fareham has been given a water and waterways-themed makeover thanks to designs by pupils at local schools.
The kids at Cams Hill School, Harrison Primary School and Wykeham House School were all invited to think about murals by ward councillor Katrina Trott.
And they are now hoping that the bright new look will stop the underpass beneath the A27 reverting back to the dingy, grimy state it was in before the makeover.
Douglas Robertson, art teacher at Wykeham, said: 'It's been good because normally we do art for art's sake, but this was a project where we had a brief to design something real.
'A lot of the time we do projects that are hypothetical but here they can see the results of the work and it seems to have been very successful.'
Christina Lock, 15, from Cams Hill, said: 'We were already doing a project on fish and we had a trip to Blue Reef Aquarium in Southsea, so we took our inspiration from that. I think it's really brightened it up.'
Ryan Marchant, eight, from Harrison Primary, said: 'It's wicked. It's a bit different to how we drew them, but it's worth it, seeing it up there.'
Millie Waite, 13, of Wykeham, said: 'I'm very proud and happy to see our designs on the wall.'
Rob Davies of Earl Godwin Close had been asking the council to do something about the underpass for years. He said: 'My wife and I come through here quite frequently and it was awful.
'It was drab and it was grey, and it didn't encourage anybody to do anything nice with it.
'But I think it's fantastic what they have done - it's bright and clean and there's just a chance that people might respect it a bit more now.'
The scheme was painted by Hampshire County Council contractors Remchem to the designs provided by the children.
Cllr Trott also gave each school 20 to spend in its art department.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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