HOARDINGS around Crewe's former Royal Arcade shopping precinct are to be covered with photographs of local residents in a bid to improve the public realm.

People could soon be peering at themselves if they agree to be photographed for the murals which are aimed at sprucing up Victoria Street and Queensway after the demolition work, which also saw the tumbling of the town clock tower, Big Bill, earlier this year.

Among the suggestions to make the art works more appealing to the eye is a "spot the alien" competition in which children would be invited to find "hidden characters" along the hoardings, which could also be covered with events guides.

Crewe Town Council would also like to see viewing platforms installed so people can see the building work taking place behind the hoardings when the redevelopment starts.

Currently, the site is wasteland with demolition rubble from the shops left piled up, which Bowmer and Kirkland, the construction arm of developers Peveril Securities, has pledged to use in the new scheme.

That includes building a new leisure/retail complex as part of the second phase of the town centre regeneration on the land where the former shops stood.

But the site will be vacant until the spring of 2023 at least while work on the first phase, a new bus interchange and 400-space multi-storey car park – which has yet to receive planning permission from Cheshire East Council – is completed.

In the meantime the town council wants to put a brighter front on the area. It has also outlined plans to tackle empty shop fronts which are blighting the town centre and a package of measures have been agreed.

Crewe Town Council Regeneration Manager Lindsay Lewis said: "The hoardings are going to be covered with a decorative finish as much as they can be.

"We want to include in it provision for public art and we have engaged Design Office to go out and take photographs of people, with their permission, to include in the designs, based on the Crewe branding.

"We'd like to create real people rather than models."

The designs are set to come to life in the town centre on vinyls by next month.

The council's supplier has also suggested a 'Find the hidden character' theme for the art work, while there will also be an opportunity for local artists to exhibit their designs.

"They will produce some removable vinyls and they will put them around the hoardings so people can bring their children along to perhaps go and find the little aliens or whatever characters are hidden around the hoardings, just as a bit of fun," added the council official.

Meanwhile, the council has agreed to spend up to £5,000 on covering up vacant shop fronts with vandal-resistant designs, while a further £2,000 is to be spent placing free-standing art display cubes in the town centre by early next year to improve the view.

A business has volunteered to get the project underway by installing the vinyls in a window to demonstrate the value of the vacant shop front project.

The regeneration manager added: "The town centre is in need of some improvement visually while development work takes place."