Warm city welcome in store for airport passengers

Images clockwise from top left: Norwich Guildhall, Tombland, City Hall, Upper St Giles, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, St Andrews Plain and St Georges Street.

They are some of Norwich’s most iconic and best loved landmarks and now they are to help give a warm welcome to visitors – from the moment they have landed.

Norwich Castle, the Forum and the Guildhall are among the buildings featured in a series of striking images which will greet passengers as they emerge into the arrivals hall at Norwich International Airport.

Other sights chosen to represent the diverse attractions to be found in Norwich are: the Holy Apostles Jesuit Chapel in Willow Lane; stalls on Norwich Market, and flowers on sale outside a shop in Upper St Giles.

The image boards are designed to reflect the wealth of historical, cultural and shopping attractions on offer within what is an increasingly pedestrian-friendly city.

The 18 eye-catching images are complemented by an information board giving passengers helpful advice about how they can most quickly get into the city and how much it will cost.

As well as helping visitors access and make the most of Norwich, it is also hoped the boards will remind local people just how much the city has to offer and encourage them to discover some of the jewels in its crown for the first time.

Norwich International Airport’s new welcome area is enhanced by European Spatial Metro project, which is all about improving city centres for pedestrians and has been led by Norwich City Council.

New paving, lights, seating and other attractive features have already made the Norwich Lanes district and St Andrews Plain and St Georges Street more appealing for pedestrians thanks to the project.

The value of ensuring major gateways into cities such as airports, train and bus stations create a good impression will be among the issues discussed at a two-day Spatial Metro conference in Norwich this week.

Delegates from all over Europe will attend Street-Level Desires which is being held at St Andrews Hall from Thursday 15 May-Friday 16 May and brings the three-year project to a close.

Marion Catlin, Norwich City Council’s cultural development officer who designed the boards, says: “We hope these boards will fulfil the kind of role of a passer-by who stops to help a visitor and explains to them the best way to get somewhere.

“They also convey the message that the city is a great place to visit or live in - particularly as a pedestrian - and is packed with wonderful heritage, great shopping and diverse cultural attractions.

“We hope they will give a flavour of the city and remind local people of some of the great things the city has to offer and encourage them to explore it.”

Richard Jenner, managing director of Norwich International, adds: “We are delighted the city council has provided these excellently designed welcome boards for our arrivals area.

“Norwich has a heritage to be proud of and it is only right that visitors arriving at Norwich International should be welcomed by these wonderful images of the city.”

Among those impressed by the visual images of the city on their arrival at the airport yesterday was one of the delegates and speakers at this week’s Spatial Metro conference.

Christian Thomas, from the Swiss Pedestrian Association, said the boards and the new café and rest area helped to put people at ease after touching down in the city.

“Coming from big airports, the first impression of Norwich is that it is such a short distance from baggage reclaim to the arrivals hall and the outside,” he said. “This new area is very nice because it gives the impression that you are welcome, with the kind of furniture you would find in an outdoor café and seats where people can sit comfortably.

“The pictures also give a good indication of the rich heritage of Norwich as well as the modern spirit of the city.”

David Bowman, a businessman who had just flown in from Aberdeen and who travels through Norwich every week, said the images chosen were “visually stimulating” and showed “another side of Norwich”.

He said: “They are of a high quality and give a good impression of Norwich. What they show is the vibrancy there is, like the market place with the multi-coloured stalls, and the cosmopolitan flavour of the place.”

The welcome boards have been developed by Norwich City Council and funded by the European Interreg IIIb Spatial Metro project.

For more about the EU project visit www.spatialmetro.org