Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has completed the latest phase of the ‘Revitalise’ programme for Coleraine town centre.
A town centre support programme funded by the Department for Communities, Revitalise aims to boost the economic viability of town centres by investing in visual improvements to business and shop frontages.
Launched in January 2022, funding for the latest phase was allocated for works on various properties located in Coleraine town centre.
Complimenting works completed at Waterside in 2013 and Railway Road in 2017, this latest phase saw 60 business owners benefit from grants of up to £5,000 towards improving their business frontages.
In addition, the programme has also invested in new hanging baskets, a ‘living wall’ on Park Street and more than 50 pieces of innovative and exciting street art.
* The Coleraine Revitalise Street Art project, part of the wider Coleraine Revitalisation Scheme, is funded by the Department for Communities.
Coleraine has an industrial heritage related to textiles, from the linen markets at the Diamond in the early 1900’s, the spinners and weavers in Shuttle Hill, the various mills and shirt factories, the lovely Ballantynes knitwear ladies of the 60’s and 70’s to present day designers Hope Macauley and Sara O’Neill.
The project has delivered multiple artworks referencing the natural heritage of the Coleraine area including:
Scenes of the River Bann by Sarah Carrington
Wildlife by Claire McDowell
The biodiversity of flora and fauna by Karl Porter & local school students
Marc Holmes created a range of stencil graphics and Meadow Toye transformed a doorway on Park Street to reference local character and horse-trader Willie Stewart.
Lisa Anderson created an amazing illustration to showcase a range of Coleraine’s natural, built and cultural heritage.
Artworks by Rob Hilken on Church Street and Friz on Society Street, reference the textile aspect of Coleraine’s industrial heritage.
‘Others’ by internationally renowned artist EMIC
Shane Sutton created an artwork entitled ‘Spacer’ to reference Coleraine-born physicist Alexander Anderson who made the first reference to black holes in space and was later cited by Stephen Hawking. The artwork on Queen Street faces towards the University of Ulster campus, where pioneering space research continues.
Leading artist FRIZ created an image of a stain glass window candle referencing the medieval Dominican Friary, founded in 1244, which once stood where the Diamond Shopping Centre is now located (on the wall of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s offices at Abbey Street). The burning candle is also a globally recognised symbol for hope. This is appropriate in regard to the essential work that the NIHE Coleraine office does for so many people at often very difficult periods in their life.
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