‘Shock’ paintwork cheers up town

COUNCILLORS in Normandy have taken a leaf out of the book of the Changing Rooms TV series and are giving their town a fresh coat of paint to give it a new lease of life.

Town-centre buildings in Evreux, Eure, are to be brightened up as part of an urban renewal scheme which will concentrate on the areas round the historic cathedral and church precincts, the Église St Taurin and belfry.

It is not new for the town to repaint its buildings and “encourage” local residents and businesses to follow suit but until this year councillors have opted for sombre colours: grey and rather austere – often described by locals as “gloomy and depressing”.

Now, after talks with the architects of the Bâtiments de France historic agency, they are developing a range of brighter colours to cheer up the town centre. Based on the town’s historic look, they include new colours that “shimmer in the changing Normandy light".

They hope for the same success as Saint-Lô in Manche where the town centre has found a new dynamism after facades were painted in bright colours – with large painted panels being described by artist-in-charge Bruno Dufour-Coppolani as giving an “electric shock” to the town’s commercial heart.

* All this week we have been looking at newsworthy events in Normandy to tie in with a feature on Normandy food festivals in this month’s Connexion.

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Photo: Ville d'Evreux