A giant heart for Stroud – new Five Valleys artwork invites your nine minute dreams
28 July 2025
A new piece of public art is coming to Five Valleys Shopping Centre in Stroud – and it’s all about time, community, and imagination.
Planned as a companion to the popular Stroud Noon clock installation, the new artwork will take the form of a striking giant heart, placed at the heart of the centre later in the year.
But this is no ordinary sculpture – it will be created using the voices and thoughts of local people, all answering one simple question:
“What would you do with an extra nine minutes every day?”
Whether it’s calling a friend, taking a deep breath, enjoying a coffee, starting a sketch, walking a little slower, or doing absolutely nothing – the community is being invited to share their ideas, reflections, and dreams.
These responses will be used in the final design of the heart artwork, making it a true expression of Stroud’s creative and thoughtful spirit.
This interactive and evolving installation is inspired by Stroud’s unique history of keeping its own local time – a story celebrated by the Stroud Noon piece, which features an antique clock permanently set to 12:09.
The time reflects the town’s historical position nine minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time, before national standardisation in the late 19th century.
Jodie Grundy, Operations Director at Dransfield Properties, the company which owns and manages Five Valleys, said: “We’ve been really pleased by the response to the Stroud Noon clock – it really struck a chord with people. Now, we want to go a step further by asking the community to help shape the next piece of public art with us here at Five Valleys.
“The idea of nine extra minutes a day came directly from Stroud Time, and the heart is a way to reflect how people might fill that time in meaningful ways. We can’t wait to see how the community responds to this.”
Everyone is invited to get involved – shoppers, staff, students, residents and visitors. Comments can be submitted by picking up one of the forms at Five Valleys and dropping it off at the postbox inside Sandersons.
Photograph shows the unveiling of the Stroud Time installation in April this year.
To keep up to date with news and events at Five Valleys visit www.fivevalleysstroud.co.uk
For further information, contact:
Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: admin@dransfield.co.uk
