Pill in the picture

A MURAL depicting life past and present in Pill could be created in the centre of the village.The mural is to be created as part of a project to refurbish the waterspout at Victoria Park.The work to refurbish the waterspout has been carried out by Easton-in-Gordano and Pill Parish Council which has partially funded it along with grants from North Somerset Council and Yanley and North Somerset Environmental Company (YANSEC).The waterspout used to pump fresh water into the village from the hills and was built in the 19th century.But it had to be moved when the precinct was developed in the 1960s and now overlooks the village green.As part of the work to restore it new cobbles have been installed around the trough along with new steps and planters.Parish council chairman Gerry Hunt said the mural idea had been suggested to brighten up the wall behind the spout.Councillor Hunt said: "The back wall behind where the spout sits is very plain and is the rear of the shops and is often subjected to graffiti. We thought that as we were refurbishing the spout that some attention needed to be given to the wall."The idea of a mural was put forward and we are now looking at doing something mosaic based and have a couple of villagers who are now drawing up some proposals."Cllr Hunt said he hoped people from right across the village would get involved with designing the artwork.He added: "We are hoping to work with local schools and youth groups and want to collect a number of photos of our residents and how life in the village is now."It may be that these photos can be transferred to ceramic tiles and these used to build a larger design."There is going to be quite a large cost involved in putting this together so we will be looking for funding."Anyone who wants to be involved in plans for the artwork should contact parish council clerk Julie Smart.