A mammoth effort by volunteers to repaint all the railings on Sandown Esplanade was successfully completed last Thursday.
The project, originally started in July, concluded with a 4th session and a massive total of 300 hours of volunteered time. Over 750m of Victorian-era railings have now been restored to their prime.
The last session was planned to be a twilight one, but failing light saw the volunteers persevere to finish by the light of the streetlights.
During the sessions, which saw over 45 people working on one occasion, seafront cafes supported the volunteers with free drinks and ice creams. Local businesses also helped out with donations of equipment from the likes of Jewson, Sydenham and Hydromar.
The community project was organised by Councillor Paddy Lightfoot and significantly funded by Sandown Town Council.
An early black and white picture of the railings – dated approximately 1890 – shows that the railings were likely black. However, it was evident when removing the old flaking paint, that the railings had been many colours in the past from sky blue to green and even orange.
Cllr Lightfoot said:
“It’s an impressive volunteer effort, the first of hopefully many Bay Place Plan projects aimed at improving the places we live and work in. We have seen volunteers aged from 12 to 90+ helping out.
“The response from local resident volunteers has been impressive, including some who had travelled from outside Sandown to join in. Many residents and visitors have also voiced their appreciation for the efforts of the volunteers”.
