MAYOR TO OPEN ARTS GARDEN
An arts feature in Bradford on Avon is to be officially opened this afternoon.
Mayor Peter Leach will open the Octagonal Garden, next to Westbury Gardens and St Margaret's Hall car park. It features a mosaic with reflections of the town created by local artist Anita Andrews. Jane Mortimer was commissioned to design and create the stone centrepiece, which celebrates Bradford's twin towns Norden, in Germany, Sully sur Loire, in France, and West Wiltshire's twin, Elblag, in Poland.
The project was funded by the town council, West Wiltshire District Council under the Five Towns initiative, the historic enhancement scheme, the awards for all lottery fund and Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust. Town clerk Diane Holmes said: "We are very grateful to the various organisations that have supported this project, which was led by the town council's riverside working group. "This group also decided on the approach to take, which included opening up the two blind' windows in the historic wall to allow glimpses of the river."
From the Twinning Association’s correspondent Gill Vile:
There were a good number of Norden-Bradford on Avon Twinning Association members at the opening ceremony of the Octagonal Garden on Friday June 30th. Joining us were members of the French Twinning Association, members of the Sully sur Loire Randonneurs and also a group of teachers from Elblag in Poland. Also present were Bradford’s Mayor Peter Leach, and members of the Town Council, the District Council and other groups who had been involved in the project.
The occasion was the formal opening of a beautiful mosaic path and sculptured stone which represents the twinned towns of Norden, Sully sur Loire and Elblag, the Polish town twinned with the five towns of West Wiltshire. The garden, which is to be found on the riverside path near St Margaret’s Hall, has been restored and cleared with small openings added to the boundary wall to give views of the River Avon. After speeches by the mayor, Roger Andrews - chair of both French and German Twinning Associations - and a representative from the Elblag Twinning Association, the ribbon was duly cut and the garden was declared open. Refreshments were served before and after the event.
The speeches reflected the spirit of twinning, a spirit that has driven people’s involvement in the various Associations over the years. Roger Andrew’s wish, for example, that politicians should spend time on a twinning visit to see how true links can be fostered between countries was greeted with much applause. It is to be hoped that the garden will serve to remind the residents of Bradford-on-Avon of the town’s Twinning Associations, and the social and cultural benefits to be gained in meeting families from other countries.