Work on the new Link footpath

From art workshop to finished pieces of sculpture

Both local primary schools sent children and teachers to the community art workshops run by artist Jim Roberts. The workshops took place in the activities room at Rosemary Court, an Extra Care housing scheme for older people in the Lascelles ward. Here, the group of children (wearing either blue or purple school sweatshirts from St John's and Dodmire primary schools) are making bollard designs in clay

The workshops were very interesting and a great chance to learn new skills in clay modelling from a busy artist. Everyone got involved in the work, even the teachers and the community workers!

Here are some of the same children, several months later, enjoying the chance to see how their work came to life in a line of decorative bollards installed across the Link. They were able to see how an idea was translated into clay and then transformed into metal sculptures.

One of the most exciting things for the group when seeing the finished bollards, was this one showing a sculpture of a fox investigating a metal bollard. The children knew who had made the fox model in their art workshop and wanted to make sure she was photographed beside it.

Here she is, looking very proud of the finished result!

Bollard designs in place at the Link

As well as the wildlife and nature aspects of the area, the Link project also set out to celebrate the rich industrial history of Darlington, a place world-famous for the invention of the railway as well as building bridges, engineering and producing knitting wool. The town has had a lot of large companies and employers based here and some of the bollard designs show this important aspect of the town's history.

This bollard design shows the clock tower at Darlington railway station, which can be seen from lots of points across the town. The railway station is part of the Bank Top ward, home to one of the Community Partnerships involved in the Link project

A train design on this bollard commemorates the importance of the Darlington & Stockton Railway

A railwayman's cap and whistle showing the distinctive British Rail logo 

A railwayman's lamp, designed by a local resident whose dad was a train driver at Darlington. Her husband's dad was also a train driver at Darlington, showing the importance of the railway industry for employment in the town

Here she is, pictured with the bollard that carries her railway lamp design

Paton & Baldwins was a world leading company in the textile industry and also a very important employer in Darlington. This bollard shows the very recognisable Patons 'beehive' logo which many knitters the world over would know from knitting patterns and wool bands  

Here is Sue, one of the community workers involved in the project, with her design for the Patons bollard. One of the new cherry trees planted on the Link can be seen behind her

This night time bollard design of a moon and stars was created by members of the youth group involved in the project art workshops run by artist Jim Roberts

The football bollard was another youth group design and celebrates the local football team known as the Darlington Quakers

This design celebrates the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, a Darlington employer, world renowned for constructing all types of bridges, including famous bridges such as the Forth Road Bridge, the Victoria Falls Bridge in Zimbabwe, the Severn Bridge, the Humber Bridge and the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge

This design show an anvil from the Darlington Forge, another important local employer 

Installing the bollards and new footpath at the Link