Council to host drop-in consultation for Crewe public art project

25 October 2022

Cheshire East Council will host a drop-in consultation event at Crewe Market Hall where new design proposals for a piece of public art in Crewe will be discussed this Thursday (27 October). 

The creation of this public artwork – known as the heritage wall – will be incorporated as part of Crewe’s Royal Arcade scheme.  

The heritage wall is part of phase one of the Royal Arcade scheme – a new bus station and multi-storey car park – which will be a prominent landmark for everyone to enjoy when they arrive in the town centre.

The artwork will be a design made of perforations on the metal façade of the car park. 

Following a series of online engagement events over the past few weeks with the public, local councillors, and culture and heritage groups, the final design proposals will be shared at the event on Thursday.

Councillor Nick Mannion, chair of Cheshire East Council’s economy and growth committee, said: “The wall of the car park – above the bus station – will have a perforated metal wall to meet ventilation requirements. 

“This represents a perfect opportunity to create a piece of artwork, based on a perforated pattern or image, and the added benefit is that it will not cost any more than the basic metal wall.

“We have already received useful feedback from the various engagement events that we’ve hosted up to this point and I expect that theme to continue at this in-person event on Thursday, which I’m very much looking forward to attending.

“Naturally, we hope that as many people as possible will be able to attend on the day to meet Jac Seifert, the artist who has produced these designs. However, we will also have a screen with video explanations of the designs that will be playing on a loop, as well as noticeboards, which will contain additional information.

“These will be available at the event and will remain in place until 4pm on Thursday 3 November.”

There will also be a ‘comments box’, which one of Crewe Market Hall’s traders, Mini Beans, will keep on the counter at their shop until the period of consultation closes. 

These comments will help inform the selection of the final design, which will be in place when the first phase of the Royal Arcade scheme is completed, at the end of 2023.

The drop-in event will run from 11am-4pm on Thursday.