TWO councils and schools in Crewe have teamed up to decorate vacant shop windows in Crewe town centre.

Cheshire East Council has jointly commissioned an artist to drive the scheme.

It follows close collaboration with Crewe Town Council and local schools and community groups.

Ruth Piggott was successfully selected over numerous applicants to produce artistic designs for empty shop units in the town centre, having presented a strong case to reinvigorate these with a series of creative and visual displays.

To produce these designs, Ruth, founder of ‘Curiosity Creators’, engaged with school children from The Oaks Academy, adults from Crewe Memory Café and members of Crewe Heritage Centre.

All who participated helped to create and produce a series of Crewe-related visual images, displayed in the form of bunting. The window frames for the project were inspired by railway arches and Crewe’s Municipal Buildings.

Ruth said: “Crewe has a lot to offer in terms of its history and heritage and I was lucky to have the opportunity to showcase this.

"It’s been great to work with a broad spectrum of different community groups, all whom have really excelled in helping to create something, which I think the town should be proud to display so prominently in the town centre.”

The artwork can be seen in both units on 1-11 Tower Way and number 36 Victoria Street.

They are just some of the many new designs appearing to decorate vacant units in the area.

These include the current vinyl projections from the Crewe Engineering and Design UTC and Crewe Lyceum.

The art and vinyl displays in the town centre are part of many initiatives that are being introduced in order to breathe new life into Crewe and fall under a wider, longer-term regeneration strategy that has started to be implemented.

Cllr Don Stockton, cabinet member for regeneration at Cheshire East Council, said “Whilst this is just an interim measure before the redevelopment of the Royal Arcade commences, it is a fantastic example of the work we are undertaking to involve the local community in the regeneration of Crewe.

“There is plenty of work going on to help improve the town centre and we look forward to this coming to fruition over the next couple of months and coming years.”