Can street art help boost city centre footfall?

Can art and creativity really help bring people back into town?

Peterborough Positive, the city's business improvement district (BID) body, has launched a new street art trail and map celebrating the collection of murals brightening up the city, hoping it will attract visitors to the centre.

The free map highlights 15 artworks and free, guided tours led by city artists Nathan Murdoch and Tony Nero, and Peterborough Civic Society and the BID are also available.

Pep Cipriano, chief operating officer at Peterborough Positive, said: "Street art has become an important part of our centre's identity... we must keep thinking about innovative ideas to bring people back."

Six of the 15 murals have been commissioned by the BID.

"Any trail brings people into the city centre – especially one focused on art and creativity, which always attracts more visitors," said Cipriano.

"The response to this has been incredible. We printed 2,000 maps and they've all been taken."

The Cowgate mural, the Priestgate artwork and the Unity Hands piece are among the artworks to be showcased in this project.

"The tour gives people the chance to hear the stories behind the designs directly from the artists and learn more about what inspired them," Cipriano said.

For the artists involved, street art is about more than colour on walls.

Nero said: "There are a lot of people who have a negative idea about the city, but there are so many positive things happening here.

"It's exciting hearing people talk about remembering the space and what it used to be like.

"When people actually see the pieces and respond positively, that's absolutely brilliant."

However, public opinion has been mixed on whether art alone can revive the city centre.

Debbie Smith welcomed the murals but questioned their wider impact.

"The art is lovely, but I don't think it's enough on its own," she said.

"The centre is lacking shops and variety – it needs more than a few pictures to bring people back."

Others were more optimistic.

Peterborough resident Jackie Wilmot said the artwork "brightens the city up" and helps people reconnect with its past.

"If there were more of these around, it would definitely bring people in," she said.

"Having a trail where you can walk from one place to another is really beneficial."

Christine Fovargue , another local resident in the city centre, added that painted shopfronts and empty spaces make a noticeable difference.

"It's nice to see empty fronts transformed – there's lots of really good work across the city," she said.

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