Residents vote for illuminated walkway in facelift

8:55am Tuesday 16th January 2007

Comments (7)   Have your say »

A walkway of illuminated, multi-coloured glass panels will form the centrepiece of a £250,000 makeover for the heart of Barton.

Residents living on the Oxford estate voted for the glass panel design, which features three panels either side of a walkway leading to the shops at Underhill Circus.

The illuminated panels will contain about 300 different pictures, many created by children from Barton during workshops held on the estate in the past few months.

Residents were asked to come up with designs loosely connected to the area and the final designs related to the estate's history.

A total of 97 people voted on three different schemes, with the glass panels design winning almost 50 per cent of the vote. The runner-up was a scheme to build a triumphal arch as an entrance leading down to an amphitheatre in front of the Underhill Circus shops.

The project is being paid for with money from developers and was commissioned by arts charity Fusion on behalf of Oxford City Council.

Work on the project, which also features a 'curtain of light' next to the Underhill Circus shopping parade and further lights embedded into the walkway, is due to start next month and be completed in time for the Barton Bash community party in June.

Community development co-ordinator Alan Foukes said: "I think the panels were a better choice than the Roman arch, because it gives a brighter, more positive image of the area."