Talented young people creatively transform West Denton underpass to a work of art
The colourful art project is aimed to reduce anti-social behaviour benefit of all the community in West Denton
by Emily Gray · ChronicleLiveTalented teens have transformed unloved underpasses in Newcastle with bright and colourful new art aiming to reduce anti-social behaviour.
Working with local graffiti artist Mark Shields, known professionally as Mark One87, and Tony Heaps, the young people designed and painted new murals, featuring everything from the Angel of the North to magpies, Newcastle United and their love of music.
Cllr Irim Ali, Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet member for a Resilient City, said: "This project is a fantastic example of how we can work with young people to give them a greater sense of ownership of their area.
"The designs they’ve come up with are bright, colourful and welcoming, and already we are hearing from local people about how they feel more confident using the underpasses as ‘they have never looked so good’.
"We hope that young people take pride in the artwork and help us to look after what they have created, in turn reducing anti-social behaviour for the benefit of all the community.”
In 2023, as part of the Home Office’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, Newcastle City Council and Northumbria Police were commissioned by the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner to deliver the seven-month Community Based Hotspot Response Project, tackling anti-social behaviour in West Denton.
Officers from the two authorities carried out extra patrols on Friday and Saturday evenings, speaking to young people, residents and businesses, with the aim of building better relationships and deterring crime - in its first six months the project saw a 45% reduction in reports of anti-social behaviour in the area.
However, research by Northumbria University found that more than 7 in 10 residents of Denton and Westerhope were apprehensive about using pedestrian underpasses.
The council - with support and extra funding provided by the PCC - sought to create a lasting legacy for the project that would help reduce those community concerns, and identified two underpasses around West Denton Way, near Northumbria Walk and West Denton Social Club -with a suggestion that a solution could be artwork involving young people.
Mark One87 worked with children from organisations including Denton Youth and Community Project, Inspire Youth Studio West school to design and paint new murals. He said: "We’ve been working with a lot of the local young people, to engage them, create design ideas and then turn them into artwork which we’ve painted on the subways."
“It’s something nice and bright in areas that previously people maybe didn’t want to come through and it’s created something nice for the community, with a bit of community spirit around it.”
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth said: "It’s fantastic to see the subways in West Denton turned into such incredible art. My office wanted to fund work like this to give young people something to do, which in turn benefits the whole community and helps address local concerns.
"We’ve clearly discovered some talented young artists in the area and in addition to that, by improving the look and appeal of the area we are making it a more welcoming and safe environment for everyone - a win all round.
“The Council and Mark have found a great way to encourage young people to take pride and responsibility in their neighbourhood and my thanks go to all involved. It all helps with the wider strategy to keep driving down ASB and deliver safer streets and stronger communities.”
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