A major community art project will be coming to Cowley Centre in January thanks to the work of local Labour County Councillors and the Labour MP for Oxford East, Anneliese Dodds.
Labour have been working with Boundary Brook Community Projects (BBCP) to brighten up Templars Square and bring local pride back to the area. Labour County Councillor for Cowley, Charlie Hicks approached the fantastic BBCP team after seeing their murals on Flower Lane and their repainting of telecom boxes across East Oxford. Dawn and Lisa from BBCP are now engaging with children from local schools – and they will be running community workshops in January, too.
Local Labour County Councillors have given Boundary Brook Community Projects £5,000 from their community pots to design art installations inside and outside Templars Square. The installations will also be funded by Redevco, the leaseholder of Templars Square.
“We’re determined for the regeneration of Templars Square to be for our community, by our community – and this is an exciting opportunity to breathe life back into the heart of Cowley,” says Jason Mosley, local Labour campaigner and County Council candidate for Cowley. “We would encourage all local residents to get involved with their ideas over the coming weeks and months.”
Labour knows that many local residents are rightly concerned about the appearance of Cowley Centre. Redevco are exploring an option to demolish the old Nelson pub and create temporary space for pop-up shops and food outlets, as well as a community space.
MP for Oxford East, Anneliese Dodds is determined to keep pushing for change. “I’ve been raising my concerns with Redevco about the length of time that the Templars Square redevelopment project is taking given residents’ concerns and the deterioration of some areas of the centre and the Nelson Pub site; and I will keep pushing for action.”
Labour is asking Redevco to ensure that better healthcare spaces are provided as part of the regeneration while pressing for all retail spaces to be filled and for increased public transport to Templars Square.
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The following Labour County Councillors have contributed funds from their community
pots towards the design of the art installations: Charlie Hicks (Cowley), Liz Brighouse
(Churchill & Lye Valley), Trish Elphinstone (Rose Hill & Littlemore), Imade Edosomwan
(Leys)
www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/24778505.oxford-community-art-project-breathe-life-cowley/
www.anneliesedodds.org.uk/news/2024/03/28/mp-demands-answers-from-redevco-on-templars-square-plans/