Laying a trail to show towns' histories

Residents of Sandy, Potton and Biggleswade are invited to see new designs of a mosaic heritage trail project which aims to enhance the visitor experience in all three towns.
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Story in Stone will see international mosaic artist Oliver Budd call on community input to design, create and install mosaics on specifically chosen walls in the three towns.

The Sandy Town Council-led partnership project has been partially funded through Central Bedfordshire Council’s £4million Market Town’s Regeneration Fund.

This has been created to improve the vibrancy of the town centres, help support economic growth and act as a catalyst for wider ongoing investment, employment and development in key market towns and communities, particularly supporting those areas facing pressures of population growth.

Match funding has also been supplied by Sandy Town Council.

Biggleswade residents may already have seen an example of Oliver’s work – a large circular mosaic on the wall in Sainsbury’s car park.

There are to be nine mosaics in total, with three in each town, the designs of which derive from heritage information supplied by the three towns’ history societies.

When complete these mosaics will be publically accessible at all times in order to encourage visitors and improve their experience, while adding to the attractions already present with the Greensand Ridge and the Biggleswade Green Wheel scheme.

Community drop-in sessions will take place at Sandy’s Robert Peel Lower School on Wednesday, November 30, between 4-8.30pm, where people can see a presentation of the designs and meet the artist.

Sections of the Story in Stone mosaics will be made locally using the creative talents of children from all the lower and middle schools from the three towns, residents of Aragon Housing Association in the three towns and Millers Court and Victoria Court in Biggleswade.

Workshops will run from January 2017 to February 2018 and the mosaic panels will be installed in three phases in from May 2017 to February 2018.

>For further details about the project see www.story
instone.org.uk.