In brief: A Jersey islander is seeking business sponsors to paint the promenade shelters along St Aubin’s Bay in a range of colours. The proposal has the backing of a local artist and the tentative support of Jersey Property Holdings, though no government funding is on the table.
A splash of colour for St Aubin’s Bay
The familiar shelters dotted along the St Aubin’s Bay promenade could soon look considerably more cheerful if islander Jenny Yettram gets her way. Her proposal is straightforward: paint the structures in a carefully chosen range of colours, turning a row of ageing grey fixtures into what local artist Ian Rolls calls a “visual treat.”
“They’re amazing structures,” Mrs Yettram told the Jersey Evening Post. “I just think they could be so much more.” It is the kind of idea that sounds almost embarrassingly simple, yet somehow nobody has thought to do it before.
Mr Rolls, who has thrown his full support behind the scheme, described it as “brilliant” and made the case with the enthusiasm of a man who has spent a career arguing that colour belongs in the landscape. “Although quite modest structures in themselves, they have a nostalgic element which recalls relaxed seaside promenading from Victorian times to now,” he said. “Painted in different carefully chosen colours, they could become a visual treat as one drives along the Avenue or cycles along the cycle lane, but particularly as one walks along the promenade.”
Mr Rolls drew comparisons with the colourful beach huts found at British and French seaside resorts, as well as the fishermen’s huts at Rozel and Bonne Nuit, which he described as “local icons.” He also took a gentle swipe at the prevailing architectural timidity of the age: “So often in our western culture we lack the confidence to use strong colour in buildings, whether inside or out, and so often opt for cream, white, grey or black, for fear of getting it wrong.”
No public money, so enter the private sector
Jersey Property Holdings, the government’s property management arm, has confirmed it is open to exploring the proposal and working with the pair. However, with no government funding currently available, Mrs Yettram and Mr Rolls are turning to local businesses to make it happen.
The model being proposed is a familiar and sensible one: individual businesses sponsor the painting and ongoing maintenance of a single shelter, with a sign on each structure recognising its patron. The cost of sponsorship is still being worked out, the Jersey Evening Post reports.
It is, in other words, a community project that asks nothing of the taxpayer. Jersey Property Holdings gets a freshened-up asset, local businesses get a visible and goodwill-generating presence on one of the island’s most-used public routes, and the rest of us get a promenade that looks like it was designed by someone who actually enjoys being alive.
More than just paint
The ambitions of the project stretch beyond aesthetics. Mrs Yettram and Mr Rolls are also hoping the shelters could become focal points for community events. Ideas floated include a walking car-boot sale stretching between the structures and an outdoor art exhibition along the promenade. Whether those ideas gain traction will depend on the level of business interest the proposal attracts.
Anyone interested in supporting the project can contact Mrs Yettram directly at jayettram@icloud.com.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
