Graffiti art at the heart of skate ramp re-vamp

25 April 2019 

Young people living in the Penleigh and Oldfield Park area of Westbury, Wiltshire were invited to paint a graffiti mural onto the skate ramp at Penleigh Park last week. 

Developed by local community group, POPCAN, working with Team10 - a group of local children who attend Westbury CE Junior School - the project was designed to help the children reclaim the park as their own. 

Local resident and POPCAN member, Tina Devereux, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for young people who use the skate ramps to take ownership of the area and brighten it up for everyone. It was great to see so many people taking part. We’d like to organise more local activities with young people and families in future.”

Bristol-based graffiti artist, Steve Fitzpatrick, ran the session which was attended by around thirty young people. In addition to creating a vibrant mural for the skate ramps, everyone who took part was able to create their own graffiti board to take home. Funding for the project was provided by Sovereign Housing Association and Westbury Town Council. 

Scott Jacobs-Lange, communities officer at Sovereign, said: “We want to support local residents to take the lead in creating the kind of community they’ll feel proud to be part of. The Penleigh and Oldfield Park community has so much ambition and determination - it’s a pleasure to be involved!”