New map of Altrincham is inspired by schoolchildren

The doodle map, created by Dave Draws, took three days to draw.

The map includes all the familiar landmarks you’d expect, such as the Clock Tower, the Market and Old Market Place.

But there are also some imaginative buildings and locations that were dreamed up by year-five pupils at Altrincham C of E Primary School, St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, Stamford Park Primary School and Navigation Road Primary School.

Fun additions to the town centre include a zoo, an outdoor swimming pool, a rock climbing centre, a dog museum and a table tennis park.

Have you ever been to Altrincham's Dog Museum? Me neither. (Image: Trafford Council)

The children also considered the environment and the community, with ideas such as an electric car station, a science club and a cafe for the homeless.

It contains over 30 well-known buildings as well as 17 new items for art lovers to spot.

The new artwork is part of Trafford Council’s ‘#BrightFutures’ project, an exciting new community arts initiative for Altrincham’s Grafton Quarter.

More than 180 school children took part in workshops with doodle expert Dave Draws last month, where they were encouraged to get creative, draw and share their hopes for the future of Altrincham.

Living in Manchester, Dave Draws has travelled the world creating large-scale murals in Hong Kong, the US and across Europe.

He is famous for his doodle maps that include cartoonish illustrations to create a map of towns and cities.

Trafford Council says ‘#BrightFutures’ will further enliven the space around the old Grafton Centre with newly commissioned, large-scale pieces of public art.

In addition to Dave Draws’ futuristic map on George Street, there will also be two further colourful installations by artist Caroline Dowsett, to be installed this autumn.

The lions at Altrincham Zoo are large (Image: Trafford Council)

Dave said: “Altrincham is already a great place to live and work, with plenty of shops, restaurants and entertainment in the town centre.

“So, the children had to think really hard about what would improve the area and what they would like to see in the future.

“During our workshops, they came up with a diverse range of thoughts and ideas and I am pleased that I could include a good mix of fun, crazy and thoughtful ideas into this new artwork.”

A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “This has been a fun and educational project that encouraged the children to think about what they would Altrincham to look like in the future.

“Thanks so much to Dave Draws and the team for giving pupils the opportunity to take part in this fabulous artwork for the town.”

The map (Image: Trafford Council)

The #BrightFutures project is also supported by Altrincham BID and Visit Altrincham.

Mandy White, BID Manager said: “It’s been very exciting to watch the progress of this project, from the school workshops to seeing the final design.

“We love all the imaginative ideas that the children suggested, we especially like some of the community and environmental suggestions. The artwork is a fantastic addition to this part of the town and we’d encourage visitors and the community to come and have a look.”