Development sites earmarked for new homes by Stroud District Council have been brightened up with the help of local art students.
Students on the South Gloucestershire and Stroud College Level 3 Diploma in Creative Practice course were invited to design banners to be attached to security fencing with the brief explaining they should be eye catching and colourful.
A panel comprising SDC members and officers judged the submissions, choosing designs by two first year students, Lila Butcher and Lewis Trump.
The first banners have been printed and are displayed at three sites – Glebelands in Cam, Cambridge Avenue in Dursley and Gloucester Street/ Bradley Street in Wotton-under-Edge where 44 new homes for affordable rent and shared ownership will be built as part of SDC’s New Homes & Regeneration Programme.
Each banner has information about the council’s plans for the site.
Lila said:
“Working with Stroud District Council to produce these pieces for the sites has been very rewarding. The other students who participated made some absolutely beautiful art and it’s been amazing to see our work printed large-scale in person. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Tom Henderson, SGS College Learning Area Manger – Creative Media added:
“Collaborating with SDC to offer our students creative opportunities in real-world scenarios improves the quality of their education and strengthens connections within the community.
“We are really proud of how our students took on this exciting creative challenge and grateful to SDC for involving us in the project. Lila’s work is a fantastic example of what our wonderful creative students can do!”
SDC Chair of Housing committee, Cllr Mattie Ross said:
“Development sites are exciting in terms of their potential to create new homes and local jobs, however, they are rarely interesting to look at. Lila’s art really brightens up the site in Cam and I’m looking forward to seeing them rolled out across our other sites for development.”
Vice chair Cllr Lucas Schoemaker added:
“This was a great project to collaborate with SGS College on and give valuable real life work experience to its students.
“Developing a culture of community engagement and delivering key regeneration sites across the district, especially brownfield, sites are key objectives in our Council Plan.”
Stroud District Council owns and manages approximately 5,000 council houses, making it the largest landlord in Gloucestershire.