For those about to knock - Bedford primary school pupils design personalised welcome doormats for property developer

The winning entry is now on display at the new town centre development
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Family-owned property developer Storey Homes came up with a welcome idea to involve the community in its new development.

It approached three Bedford primary schools - Polam School, Livingstone Primary School and Priory School - with a design challenge.

To celebrate the launch of the its new show home at The Harpurs in Bedford, pupils were invited to design a personalised nature-inspired welcome mat.

Erdi and his sister Duru with the winning mat designErdi and his sister Duru with the winning mat design
Erdi and his sister Duru with the winning mat design

The winning entry - by Erdi Ayan, of Livingstone Primary School - is now displayed at the development at De Montfort Place, off Warwick Avenue.

The runners up were Ishmail Hussain, of Priory Primary School and Dhillon Sangha, of Polam School.

The successful designs have also been transformed into eye-catching welcome mats for each winner to take home and place at the entrance of their own homes.

The planned winner presentation at De Montfort Place could not take place due to the current restrictions, so Heather Holl, sales and marketing director at Storey Homes, surprised Erdi with a socially-distanced doorstep visit to give him his winning finished design.

She said: “This competition was a wonderful way to start the new year. Nature provided an uplifting colourful theme and all the entrants should be really proud of the calibre of work they produced. They say that first impressions count and we are delighted that this winning design will be the first thing visitors to the new show home at The Harpurs see.”

Dilek Ayan, Erdi’s mother added: “It’s a challenging time and Erdi is missing going to school and seeing his friends, so this visit has really brightened up our week.”

Mr Thornes, head at Livingstone Primary School, added: “Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed getting creative for this challenge and it’s really exciting to be celebrating our wonderful winner, Erdi”.

De Montfort Place is a gated development featuring a choice of two sites - Haymarket Rise and The Harpurs, which are due to be completed this summer 2021.

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