Residents walking through Christchurch will now benefit from improvements to the local area after a well-used underpass received a full makeover.
In a joint project between BCP Council and Christchurch Chamber of Trade and Commerce the underpass linking Waitrose and Saxon Square was subjected to a deep clean, wall artwork wrap and new safety initiatives. It was a continuation of renovation work started last year when stair treads were replaced.
The wall wrap design includes a new designed map of Christchurch Town Centre to encourage visitors to explore different areas of the town and increase dwell time. Underneath the map there is also a QR code to the BCP Council Tourism page to highlight places of interest. The rest of the wall wrap includes 14 photos of Christchurch and surrounding areas and where people can learn more at visit-christchurch.co.uk .
Councillor Phil Broadhead, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, said: “It was great to see that everyone using the underpass stop to look at it and there were so many positive comments, people even took photos and videos. This is part of our commitment to sprucing up our high streets in support of our local businesses and economic recovery through encouraging more shoppers into the area.
“It is also in line with our Cleaner, Greener Safer commitments to bring back a sense of community pride and improve our public areas and amenities for everyone.”
The final stage of the project is to consider if security mirrors can be installed so pedestrians can see who is in the underpass before they enter.
Photo caption left to right:
Peter Watson-Lee (& dog) – Chamber Executive Committee
Pete Brown – Waitrose Store Manager
Tim Brown – Chamber Executive Committee
Peter Thorne – Chamber Executive Committee
Cllr Phillip Broadhead – BCP Council
Andy Barfield – Chamber President
Bob Atkins – Chamber Executive Committee