ALTON Town Council has agreed to put its weight behind a unique public art trail, designed to celebrate Jane Austen’s connections with the area.

An inspirational art project, the trail will form part of a global commemoration of the author’s life in 2017, the 200th anniversary of her death.

As an enhancement of Alton’s own Jane Austen Regency Week celebrations, the town council has agreed to put forward £1,000 from its tourism budget to kickstart the ‘Sitting with Jane’ project which, it is believed, should increase visitor footfall to the town and flag up Alton as a destination for tourists interested in learning more about its famous literary connection.

One of the most famous novelists in the world, Jane Austen was born in Steventon, near Basingstoke, in December 1775 and, apart from a seven-year period in Bath, she spent most of her life living in the county.

She moved with her mother and sisters to Chawton, near Alton, in 1808, and it was there that she wrote and published her most significant work. While Jane is buried at Winchester Cathedral, her mother and sisters are buried in the churchyard at St Nicholas Church, and Jane Austen’s House in Chawton has become a museum, attracting many thousands of visitors per year.

The family used to shop in Alton, and Jane’s brother, Henry, had the Austen Bank on Crown Hill, while brother Edward married into the Knight family and took on ownership of Chawton House, now a library dedicated to the study of early women’s writing.

This strong connection with the Alton area is to be recognised as part of the ‘Sitting with Jane’ project which is a public art trail, made up of 25 ‘BookBenches’, each uniquely designed and painted by a professional artist with their personal interpretation of a Jane Austen theme.

A ‘Wild in Art’ project, run in partnership with Destination Basingstoke, a not-for-profit organisation working to promote the town and its surrounding area, the trail will link locations key to the life of Jane Austen.

According to Destination Basingstoke spokesman Felicity Edwards, while most of the benches will be in Basingstoke the aim is to extend the trail to embrace Winchester, Alton and Chawton.

Made of fibreglass, each bench will cost £5,000 – to be raised by sponsorship – and will be hand painted by local artists. The cost will include installation, and the benches will be on show for 10 weeks from mid-June to the end of August 2017, during which time there will be free public access, accompanied by a free app and a trail guide.

In a bid to leave a valuable lasting legacy in the region, afterward the benches will be auctioned in aid of the Ark Cancer Centre.

Having been highlighted by Pat Lerew on behalf of the Alton Chamber of Commerce Regency Week project, at the September meeting of the town council’s community and events committee, it was agreed to contribute £1,000 toward the cost of one bench for Alton, which would be located on the lawn outside Alton Assembly Rooms, opposite the former Austen Bank and adjacent to the Curtis Museum.

Committee chairman Bisi Eni-Olotu said: “Jane Austen has left a lasting impact on the literary world, and we are delighted to be supporting this anniversary project which will draw in visitors to Alton from far and wide. For many people following the trail this will be the first time they’ve visited our beautiful town, and we look forward to welcoming them. All local businesses contributing to the project will be acknowledged in the local events and publications surrounding the trail.”

As the next step in promoting the project, Destination Basingstoke is calling for artists to submit inspirational designs with a Jane Austen theme which, if selected, will result in a paid-for commission to paint a template ‘BookBench’, which will act as a 3D canvas, “making the finished piece, not only a work of art, but an attractive piece of street furniture that will be accessible for all to see and sit on, to contemplate the artist, Jane Austen, or the scene and landscape where it is located”.

While ‘Sitting with Jane’ will be first event with a specific literary theme, Wild in Art – dedicated to the promotion of art through the creation of mass participation public art events – has worked on similar events all over the world and is renowned for high quality, high profile, and exciting events.

Innovative designs from regional artists that are inspired by Jane Austen are invited by December 1. Artists’ packs can be downloaded from sittingwithjane.com.