There’s a unique and exciting project in Caernarfon that’s just been launched! The work behind the scenes has been ongoing for months and now you can see the colourful umbrellas above Stryd y Plas in Caernarfon.
The decline of town centres is a concern for many people in Gwynedd. The aim of this project by Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig is to tackle this problem by encouraging creative ideas on our streets!
Evidence shows that online shopping, large shopping centres and supermarkets, to name but a few factors, have had a negative impact on High Street trade, which in turn has contributed to a decline in our town centres.
Today our high streets should offer a unique experience that will encourage people to visit town centres and the Unique Streets project aims to help with this.
There was an open call back in November for different community groups to be part of the Unique Streets project. The groups needed to identify creative ideas that would encourage people to visit the streets and spend locally.
HWB Caernarfon were successful with their application and the art installation is now up for everyone to see on Stryd y Plas.
Gavin Owen from HWB Caernarfon said:
"It’s been important to work with and have the support of the local businesses whilst developing this project. There’s been similar colourful umbrellas installed in the AgitAgueda Art Festival in Portugal for some years. The art installation there has attracted thousands of visitors mainly through people sharing pictures on social media. We’re confident that this will happen in Caernarfon as well with local businesses benefiting in the town centre".
Carwyn ap Myrddin from Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig said:
"Many have been eagerly awaiting to see the umbrellas being installed and it’s great to see that they’re up! It’ll be interesting to see the effect on the number of people visiting the street and the centre of Caernarfon. By using HWB Caernarfon’s technology that’s already been developed we can monitor the number of people by the end of the summer and we’ll be able to compare those figures with previous years.
It’s a pilot project and what’s great is that the cables that have been installed above the street as part of this project will be available to be used for various other art installations in the future. It’ll be possible to have different art themes from month to month or if there’s an event on in Caernarfon."
This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government. It’s also part funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Gwynedd Council.