Over fifty Braunstone Gate locals came together with paintbrushes at the ready to ‘blue’ up their end of town with a giant LCFC themed mural and mini-garden.
The week of painting and gardening was planned by the Braunstone Gate Community Forum, charity Sustrans and Soft Touch Arts, as part of the ‘Braunstone Gate Places for People’ project, and funded by People’s Health Trust, using money raised by Health Belief through The Health Lottery and Leicester City Council.
The mural on the corner of Thorpe Street was designed by the local Community Forum and pupils at Shaftesbury Junior School, as they wanted to celebrate LCFC’s premiership win and the multicultural nature of their community, as well as including local landmarks such as, the King Power Stadium, River Soar and Bede Park.
The project attracted many people including children, taxi drivers, bin men, students and families came together to get their hands dirty- even canal boat residents popped by to lend a helping hand.
Pegasus Fitness Factory kindly donated their wall, with many enthusiastic local residents donating plants or buying supplies from local florist Vickers.
Charlotte Jones, Sustrans project co-ordinator and local resident, said: “Having talked with more than 500 people on Braunstone Gate, it was clear that tidying up this end of the street, plus more greenery and more colour, were things that everyone agreed they’d like to see happen. It has been a fantastic week, together we have turned this previously crumbling, weedy, litter-strewn corner of the street in to a little pocket of colour and celebration for everyone to enjoy!”
A survey found at least 20 different nationalities of people work on Braunstone Gate. All their flags are depicted on the mural.
Kim Chong, who works on Braunstone Gate, was involved in the design and painting of the mural, along with her two children: “The painting allows children to capture the glorious moments of Leicester’s recent history.” she said.
The Braunstone Gate Places for People project supports the community in coming together to make small street improvements and to try out bigger improvements with the aim of agreeing on permanent changes to help make Braunstone Gate a more people-friendly street.
