Residents can be 'proud' of new mural on Idle park building

The community mural is being painted on three sides of the Idle Bowling Club at Idle Recreation Ground this week.

An artist paints a mural on the bowling club at Idle Recreation Ground (Image: Newsquest)

Lauren Batty, CEO of Outloud, said: "It's a collaborative project of Outloud and the United Art Project. We called it Paint on Park.

"We did a previous project called Paint on Parade in Holme Wood last year at this time.

A wildlife scene mural at Idle Recreation Ground (Image: Newsquest)

"The murals on a parade of shops in Holme Wood are still in all their glory and they are a big part of the community there.

"Based on the success of that project we're doing Paint on Park.

A group of artists painted murals at Idle Recreation Ground (Image: Newsquest)

"The lead artist for this project is Jamie Steward, who grew up in Idle and has real local connections with the community.

"The design that's been chosen has been in collaboration with the community."

One of the murals on the bowling club at Idle Rec (Image: Newsquest)

She said it has involved various different groups to give it an "intergenerational appeal" and added: "It has a lot of different elements and we're finishing it this week."

Lauren said that the mural projects in both Holme Wood and Idle are something the areas of Bradford outside the city centre can be proud of in the lead-up to the Bradford City of Culture 2025.

An artist paints a mural at Idle Rec (Image: Newsquest)

She said: "It's great to bring art to local communities like Idle and Holme Wood in the lead-up to 2025.

One community member welcomed the idea of repainting the mural on the bowling club.

"This group of local artists is keen on shouting how good Bradford is," he said.

A bee is part of wildlife mural at Idle Rec (Image: Newsquest)

"They've been painting it all this week after the building was whitewashed with paint last Friday.

"They've put a nice scene on it, as the old one had been there for a few years and had graffiti on it.

"I think it's nice people have had their say and it's a nice thing to do for a park for a change."

Shutters on the parade of shops in Holme Wood were transformed into colourful pieces of art in March 2022 to represent the memories of the residents on the estate.

Paint on Parade murals on shop shutters in Holme Wood (Image: Newsquest)

The project aimed to "renew the community ethos on the estate", "bring it back to life" and "spruce up the area," said Kayle McCoy, founder of The United Art Project.