Students design new home for bridge love locks

Hundreds of unclaimed love locks removed from a footbridge over the River Trent could soon have a new home.

University students in Nottingham have been asked to design a permanent structure for the symbols of love to be displayed.

Over many years, Wilford Suspension Bridge - which connects The Meadows and West Bridgford - was covered in the commemorative padlocks.

But they were removed in October by Severn Trent due to structural concerns and will be reinstalled on the new structure.

Architecture students from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University have until March to come up with new design ideas for the locks to be displayed in public again.

Sam Wilson, environmental communications lead at Severn Trent, said: "This is going to be a more permanent structure and hopefully it will be something that can continue to be built upon.

"To give the communities in Nottingham, and surrounding areas a place to come, and hopefully see the previous love locks, but also a place for new love locks to go."

Once the designs are submitted, a shortlist of 10 will be put forward to a judging panel, comprising of representatives from Nottingham City Council, Severn Trent and both universities.

The top three will then be chosen and put out to the public before a final winning design is picked.

Wilson said the location of the winning structure was yet to be decided, but Severn Trent was working with the council to pick an appropriate spot.

Associate professor Margaret Mulcahy, who runs the undergraduate architecture course at the University of Nottingham, said it was a great opportunity for students.

"I was absolutely thrilled, Severn Trent rang me and we said 'absolutely, we're doing it', and we've been speaking to Nottingham Trent University and they are the same," she said.

"It's hugely exciting. It's very rare that students get to design something and it's actually built, so this is a very unique opportunity for our students.

"That's an enormous privilege very early in a career."

Mayah Baidoo is in the second year of her degree in architecture at the University of Nottingham and is working in a team with other students on her course.

She said: "I think it's great. It's nice to also give us something to work towards, and put our skills into practice.

"A lot of the time we have these hypothetical briefs and no real budget, but this is really cool to put everything we've been doing so far into practice."

First year architecture and environmental design student, Toby Dmytriw, said he thought it was important that the design incorporated space for new locks to be added.

He said: "The old ones [locks] need to be restored because I think people put them on the bridge for a purpose.

"But there should also be a space for new ones, and I think that's really important to people."

Second year student Jaya Guha has been working in a team with her friend Rachael Hampton and they have come up with a circular design for old and new locks.

Hampton said: "Our design invites people in, it's a circular space that people can come in and see the displays and then they can go and create their own memories as well."

Guha added: "It's absolutely amazing, it will be really cool if ours gets picked because we could go there and see it."

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