Paint brushes and spray cans splashed into action to transform a busy underpass, with the help of a local artist and the local community.
Bryce Davies was commissioned by Caerphilly County Borough Council to work with local community groups and help improve the Cwrt Rawlin Underpass in Castle View, Caerphilly.
The area was previously strewn with rubbish and the walls of the underpass vandalised. The whole area has been cleaned up and the tarnished underpass has been rejuvenated with artwork reflecting the local landscape and local history. One of the most impacting images is that depicting the Senghenydd Mining Disaster.
Mark Williams, Head of Public Services at Caerphilly County Borough Council commended the project.
He said: “This underpass has previously given rise to complaint, but now is receiving many positive comments from local residents which in turn has stimulated pride in the area.”
The project was funded by the Welsh Government’s Tidy Towns initiative.
I've got to thank Rhodri Lloyd of Caerffili County Council Tidy Towns for engaging Bryce Davies in this lovely piece of artwork. After our meeting last July I never expected such a superb and very large double commission to be in place so soon.
The tribute to the Senghenydd mining disaster which sees its centenary commemorated next year is a fitting tribute.
The lights will be commissioned shortly too.
An appalling waste of public money during a time of austerity.
The fact this underpass was in such an appalling condition and in the words of this local Councillor` shrewn with rubbish`,is down to the Caerphilly Council`s lack of attention to its cleaning in the first place. The reason that this Councillor then laud its clean up and claim the credit needs some thought, not much though, its ELECTION TIME AGAIN.
I also remember certain candidates in the last council elections 4 years ago saying that if elected they would get this area `lit`. Still waiting!!!!!.
Nothing wrong with having a Tidy Town even in times of austerity. Lets look at the Plaid administrations actions over the last 4 years:
Worked with £17 Million cuts from Welsh Government.
Invested £13.6 Million in roads and footpaths.
Built and building New libraries.
Best in S Wales for recycling (thanks to the residents)
Silver Gilt award for Wales in Bloom each and every year for Caerffili Town.
Invested in our young with Training, Apprentice and Graduate
schemes…….It goes on and on……
Oh and Council Tax £100's cheaper than RCT, Torfaen Blaenau Gwent .
Mr Fussell is quite correct, there is nothing wrong with having a clean town at anytime, but, he misses the point, the article states, "the area was shrewn with rubbish, before this clean up", my point is that something must have been amiss prior to the recent clean up, and it is the `statutory` responsibilty of ANY COUNCIL, Labour, Plaid or no political control, to- Clean the streets, maintain the pavements, maintain the roads, resurface rear lanes, educate the kids, and look after vunerable people via its social services functions, etc etc, so to take credit for doing something the officers of the administration could do regardless of the "political functionaries" is disingenuous.
All politicians need to remember IT IS PEOPLE WHO MAKE COMMUNITIES NOT POLITICIANS, I will not reel out all the stealth taxes in Caerphilly increased under Plaid Cymru, surfice it to say it is a lot dearer to die under Plaid Cymru in Caerphilly than it was under labour.
It is a nice piece of art and will hopefully not be vandalised. However, Trefor raises an excellent point in asking why the area was treated as an unofficial rubbish tip to begin with. We are told that fly tipping is on the decline. Yet here we have a newly cleaned up dumping ground.
What this tells us is that only with Welsh Government funding can C.C.B.C. clean up rubbish in the community. Rubbish that is supposedly not even there if you listen to the council spin.
How many more neglected areas are there and will the W.A.G. be subsidising Plaids tax policy in paying for those to be cleaned up too?
I'm sorry, but this is yet another example of an unimaginative council trotting out yet another unimaginative solution to social decay. These spray jobs are degrading our communities and are responsible for all sorts of unseen cultural damage. Aesthetically, they are nothing short of cheap, clichéd symbols of Welsh culture masquerading as public art. The valleys are currently saturated with these types of aerosol 'murals' and they're making these villages and towns look even more impoverished that they already are. They display the kind of tired repetitive themes, lack of vision and tokenistic community inclusivity one would expect from a self-serving council. The article fails to mention that there are perfectly good artists indigenous to Caerphilly Borough that have been ignored and excluded from commission opportunities such as the one described above. Local communities and local artists deserve better than this. How many more miners, landscapes, wizards and flowing haired nymphs are we going to see emblazoned across walls and roller shutters before it become nauseating to look at? We need public artwork that truly represents the people and communities they live in, not clichéd, historical pastiche wrapped up in a fairground aesthetic.