Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
VIBRANT MURAL TRANSFORMS DRAB HOARDING
There’s graffiti tagging and beautiful street art - and this stunning mural definitely falls into the latter category. The work has been completed on the riverside stretch of hoarding which surrounds the development at the back of Kingsmead Field.
It is a joint project between Canterbury City Council, developer Coombs, the Friends of Kingsmead Field and local street artists Liam Dowd and Sam Sure. It stretches for 40 yards, bringing a welcome splash of colour and vibrancy to otherwise drab hoarding.
It was the idea of the Friends, whose spokesman Sian Pettman says: “It reflects the rich diversity of the natural world living on the doorstep of this site and shows how we can create something spectacular when we all work together. “I am really grateful for the efforts of the council and Coombs for helping to make this transformation happen.”
Artist Sam says the artwork is already turning heads. “Attitudes to street art have really changed,” he said. “Fifteen years ago, we would have got strange looks from passers-by and we would have been quite nervous about what they were going to say to us. These days everyone is so excited to see murals like this going up. We have had so many people stopping to chat with us and thank us, from the youngest to the oldest.’
The hoarding screens the development of 16 homes on a former section of Kingsmead Field, close to the existing Kingsbrook Park development.
Originally, the council had plans to build on the whole field, which led to a campaign by residents to prevent any development at all. However, following discussions with the Friends, a compromise was reached that involves only 20% of the field being built on, with the remaining 80% classified as a Village Green.
Cllr Rachel Carnac, vice chairman of the city councils’ Covid-19 Emergency Committee, said: “I think the work of a very talented artist combined with the passion of both the Friends and Coombs has created something very special especially as it reflects our long-running and very popular Love Where We Live campaign.”