Colour explodes across Ashfield as residents look forward to post-pandemic future

The project also includes the distribution of 1,000 colouring-in books, where people can visualise ideas of what they would like to see.

For the first time ever, the story of the town has been told through a short animation entitled ‘Imagine Ashfield’, organised by local campaigner Arran Rangi from the ‘Build Back Better Ashfield and Mansfield’ community group.

The hand-drawn illustrative film shows local people reflecting on the area’s industrial past, how it has coped during the pandemic and what residents hope and imagine for the future.

The film features local residents of all ages and from across the Ashfield area.

Jayne Woodbridge (right) owner of the Create Studio in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, paints her shop front with a giant rainbow as part of Imagine Ashfield, a community project inviting residents to imagine what the area will look like after the pandemic.

For the launch of the animation, Arran and the group teamed up with local businesswoman and artist Jayne Woodbridge to turn her Creative Studio in Outram Street into a fantastic explosion of colour, chalking a giant rainbow mural from the animation across the whole of the store.

Local children also joined Jayne for a one-off craft workshop, where they created a giant ‘Imagine Ashfield’ collage.

Mr Rangi said: “The virus has turned the world and this community upside down. The economy needs a boost, but the question is where and how to start.

"We think that Ashfield has been left behind when it comes to asking people what they think and want from any recovery. So we created this project to do exactly that.”

Arran and his team are also distributing 1000 colouring-in sheets across Sutton and Kirkby. The sheets depict a scene from the film and invite local schools, community groups and residents to ‘Imagine Ashfield’ for themselves by filling in the spaces and marking what they’d like to see in the future.

The film is available to view on the Build Back Better Ashfield facebook page where the public can also download extra colouring in sheets and find out more about the campaign.