Albany Junior School artwork unveiled at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground

Artwork created by budding artists from Albany Junior School in Stapleford was unveiled today at the construction site of the town’s new £7.4m Community Pavilion on Hickings Lane.  

Children from Albany’s afterschool club have worked hard to design and paint eight large artboards, totalling 25m in length, with themes of their choice, including the environment, nature, animals, construction, sports, food and technology.  

The boards will be on public display on the pavilion’s construction hoarding until the building work is complete in Autumn 2025.  

The community pavilion is one of six projects funded by the Government through the £21.1m Stapleford Towns Fund.

Paul SweeneyAlbany Junior School artwork unveiled at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground, Vice Chair of the Stapleford Towns Fund Board, said:  

“It’s a real delight to see the creativity of Albany Junior School children in the artwork they have unveiled today. A huge thank you from the Towns Fund Board for brightening up our pavilion construction site and creating something that will make people smile as they pass by.”  

Albany School teacher Barry Harding, said:

“It was great to be involved in this project. The pupils really enjoyed it and worked really hard - they even stayed behind after school and painted in the snow.” 

The pavilion will be a state-of-the-art, multi-use building, with a recreation and sports ground, that will replace some of the town’s out-of-date community facilities. It will bring local community groups together under one roof as a central hub for people of all ages to meet, learn, play, dance and keep fit, including: 

• A new, fully accessible, energy-efficient building  

• Community café  

• Multi-use events and learning spaces and community rooms  

• 3G sports pitches and changing rooms  

• Enhanced and increased onsite car parking spaces and cycle storage  

The outdoor facilities will include a large 3G pitch, a smaller multi-use pitch, space on the park for two five-a-side grass pitches or one seven-a-side pitch.   

The Steven Gerard Academy, which opened its first Midlands academy in Stapleford in September, will use the Pavilion as its future base for football training and education. Not only will the Academy improve the education, health and wellbeing of children and young people and create job opportunities, it will put Stapleford on the map as a centre of excellence for sport.  

Paul added:  

“Stapleford’s new Community Pavilion and recreation ground will be a much-needed central hub for children and people of all ages, and we can’t wait for it to open next summer.”   

The boards for the project were kindly donated by local builder’s merchant EH Smith.  

For more information about this project and the Towns Fund, visit www.broxtowe.gov.uk/staplefordtownsfund (Opens in a new window)