A new piece of temporary artwork has been installed in the former Co-Op building, which is standing empty in a key shopping street.

The Co-Op shop, in Week Street, Maidstone, opened in November 2018, and closed in 2021.

The piece features Iggy the dinosaur, a sculpture outside Maidstone East Station and the Archbishops Palace.

Cllr Martin Round, Chair of the Economic Regeneration & Leisure Committee at Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) said: “This is a great way to brighten our high streets, any empty units look so much more inviting to visitors while new tenants are found.

"By brightening these spaces up with colourful artwork we hope to create a more positive look to the town centre and encourage new businesses to use the spaces. The artwork really is stunning, well done to everyone involved.”

Two workshops were held in Maidstone Museum in St Faith's Street, where people were asked to share their thoughts about what Maidstone means to them. The second workshop, held during half term, allowed children to get creative by drawing colourful images of their favourite activities and places.

Kent artist Richard Jeferies was then able to create bespoke artwork, combining as many of the ideas as possible into two pieces. The first has been recreated in vinyl for installation on the empty building in Week Street. It is hoped that the second set will be installed in the next few weeks on another vacant unit.

The funding for this work has been allocated to councils across England from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Welcome Back Fund, to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic.

MBC thanked the Co-Op and the building's owner for granting permission to instal the artwork.