Mural designs have transformed a pedestrian subway in Monmouth, and were brought to life to be enjoyed by a local support group living with sight loss.

The Monmouth Vision Impaired Group were recently met by Monmouth Town Mayor, Cllr David Evans, who gave detailed descriptions to showcase the murals which are on display along the subway which runs underneath a part of the A40.

The mural installation, which was created by local artist Paul Shepherd, was part of a Monmouth Town Council initiative, which was funded by Wye valley National landscape Sustainable Development Fund.

The project began in 2024 with a grant of over £9,000 from the Wye Valley National landscape and was match funded from the Town Council, making a total budget of over £12,500.

The Macular Society Volunteer Support Group’s chairperson Angela Hoyle said: “I was very excited to bring the murals to life for our group members, so I came up with the idea of projecting them onto a large screen in a dimmed environment. “

The Mayor, David Evans said: “it was impressive to know how young people had played a part in the subject matter and designs. This led to members airing their personal recollections of the Wye and made for interesting discussions.”

The group said: “Our thanks go to the Wyesham Christian fellowship for hosting us, to Pastor Ian Roberts and to the mayor who generously gave their time.”

The Monmouth vision impaired group, overseen by national sight loss charity, the Macular society, meet every first Thursday of the month between 2-4pm at Wyesham Christian fellowship.

Macular disease is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK. Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected and many more are at risk with around 300 new diagnoses every day.