MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS, BY HOLLY MILLS.
The tour started at the underpass in Carrington. Unfortunately, this gave me a poor first impression of Carrington. They had attempted to improve the underpass by creating a fantastic mural (which hadn’t been graphitised probably due to the community’s sense of ownership) and the mosaic bench (which sadly was falling apart in places).
This is such a shame as the residential area behind the shops is clean, neatly kept and welcoming. It has some great Victorian houses, particularly by the Pottery and the Gladstone Pub. I particularly liked the way the shop fronts are stepped along the street and the metal work protecting the windows to the pottery.
Guy Routledge, the potter we met today was particularly inspirational. He has worked with the community on a number of projects including the hand print tiles produced by three local primary schools, installed along the boundary wall to Pirate Park (which is very well looked after).
A particular surprise of the tour, was coming across the Business HQ under construction which is due for completion in a month’s time. The lady who showed us round was really passionate about making this a creative hub for dress makers, film makers etc. It is going to be linked with the Creative Quarter in the city centre and they plan to have a grand opening. The buildings they are converting, are based around a courtyard which will provide a great communal outdoor space for various events.
Next door to Business HQ is Acorns a retirement home for the elderly who kindly provided us with a space to meet and sandwiches (thank you)! It would be lovely to insert a metal great into the brick boundary wall to enable residents to see through to Business HQ.
Carrington already has a history tour of the area – it would be fantastic to add a QR code to the map to make it more interactive, so that participants could go online and find out more. Perhaps this is something NTU can help with?
We met some passionate and welcoming people in Carrington today, who are proactively seeking ways of improving the area. One particular issue was raised a number of times – Carrington’s identity. As Carrington is a small area, and lots of people pass through but don’t stop, people see it as part of Sherwood, rather than having its own individual identity. One simple way could be to design and install signage saying ‘Welcome to Carrington’. It’s clear from my tour today that Carrington does have its own identity. I hope that we can help to establish and define the identity with the local community and make members of the public realise that Carrington has its own personality!
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