Town bridge art project

In 2018 St Neots Masterplan announced a project to improve the pathways in the 72-acre recreational green-belt park that runs through St Neots we saw an opportunity to get involved and with a public art project.

The footpath under the main St Neots town bridge is a main thoroughfare for pedestrians using it for both leisure and commuting activities as it connects both sides of riverside park together. It is an ideal location to energise the town with modern art that could create a more aesthetically pleasing walkway.

The footpath under the bridge has twelve 1.5m high exposed concrete supports. In 2019 we sought permission from Cambridge County Council and their highways representatives to paint the twelve columns as a way to energise the underpass for two reasons: It’s a statement to the St Neots public and Cambridgeshire Peterborough Combined Authority that we are supporting the St Neots masterplan in a proactive way as this walkway is detailed as the main route through to connect the riverside pathways. It’s a light-touch approach to adding creativity to the town which is not highly visible and also low cost but adds a modern feel for the younger culture in the town.

The paint was kindly donated by the Cambridgeshire Community Reuse & Recycling Network, which offer free paint to community projects in Cambridgeshire.

We looked for volunteers to help paint the columns from local secondary schools as a way to include the generations that will use the walkway. Our hope is that by including teenagers in the project it will encourage ownership and pride in their locality to tackle issues of vandalism in St Neots.