The big circular advertising structure at the centre of Wandsworth Roundabout has become a local landmark since its installation in 1995, known as the ‘pretzel’, but advertising specialists Wildstone Estates put forward plans to replace it with a timber tree-inspired structure in a bid to generate more revenue at the site.
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Estates → become → site
Wandsworth’s Planning Committee went against officers’ recommendations and rejected the scheme on Thursday night (September 17), after expressing split opinions on the proposals.
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Committee → go → proposals
Some councillors agreed the replacement structure would be too intrusive, while others said that while they did not like the look of it, they could not see a reason for its refusal.
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they → agree → refusal
Ultimately, however, the application was rejected at the meeting.
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application → reject → meeting
Labour councillor Matthew Tiller said: “I believe we should listen to the outcry in defence of the current structure, ‘the pretzel’ as it’s known, personally I think that the replacement structure is messy and incongruous.”
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structure → say → structure
Fellow Labour councillor Tony Belton added: “I think that we ought to keep these large ads out of the way and out of the sight of drivers who can then concentrate on not running us pedestrians down.”
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who → add → pedestrians
Responding to the plans on the council’s website, one objector wrote: “It’s extremely ugly and unneeded in the area.
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It → respond → area
Another commented: “I strongly object to the new structure.
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I → comment → structure
The current one is iconic, it has been perfectly and recently improved with the dark paint.
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it → improve → paint
The new design is garish, will not age well design or materials wise, and also a complete waste of money.”
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design → age → money
A third added: “In my view, this structure will be an unnecessary eyesore and represents money that could be much better spent on improvements that genuinely benefit local residents.”
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that → add → residents
Transport for London (TfL) also raised concerns the replacement advertising boards could distract drivers, in a written response to the application.
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boards → raise → application
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TfL said: “Although replacing an existing illuminated display, the collision history demonstrates multiple serious and slight incidents, especially within the approach to the roundabout, where road users would have the most visibility of the advert, where it may distract road users and increase road safety risk.”
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it → read → risk
David Tidley, Head of Transport Strategy, said the applicant had found none of the incidents were caused by the advertising structure, after investigating the area’s collision history, and it had agreed conditions to address TfL’s concerns.
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it → say → concerns
Wildstone Estates acquired the structure last year under a long lease with TfL and designed the proposals with architects Tate + Co.
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Estates → acquire → Tate
The proposed 25-metre-tall structure would have had four advertising boards, like the original, which would have been slightly bigger.
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which → propose → original
An underpass beneath the roundabout was featured at the start of Kubrick’s 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.
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underpass → feature → film
Council officers had recommended the scheme for approval as they said there were no planning concerns that required its refusal, while ruling the replacement structure would not be much more “visually dominant” than the original.
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structure → recommend → original
The project would have been privately funded so it did not involve public money.
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it → fund → money
Planning documents said: “The proposals present the opportunity to refresh the site with a high-quality creative design that reflects the iconic location and showcases new investment in the area.”
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that → say → area
The scheme was refused at the meeting, with six councillors voting against it and three councillors in favour.
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councillors → refuse → favour
The Aporia
