Guest post from Philip Grant
Last month, I wrote about a presentation to Wembley History Society on
Quintain’s proposals for the future of the tile murals in the Bobby Moore
Bridge subway. LINK I am writing this follow-up article so that “Wembley Matters” readers are
aware of what is being proposed, and the suggested options.
Wembley History Society’s committee was due to decide on its response,
to Quintain and Brent Council, about the proposals last Friday evening. Any
views which I express here are my own, and not those of the Society. But I would like to know what you think,
so please add your views as comments below. If you wish to comment anonymously,
please at least give a brief description of yourself (for example: local
resident, councillor, Quintain or Brent employee). (Editor's note: If you find using the comment facility difficult you can email me with your comment at martinrfrancis@virginmedia.com and I will post it for you.)
Last April, the history society wrote to Brent Council and Quintain,
asking that the tile murals, which have been covered up with vinyl sheet
adverts for the past five years, should be put back on public display LINK . At the presentation on 19th October, we were shown a “collaged”
photograph of the tile murals along the east wall of the subway:
Quintain’s proposals for improvements to the subway (some of it funded
out of the £17.8m Community Infrastructure Levy money which Brent’s Cabinet
agreed to give them last year?) include better lighting in the subway. Some of
this would be provided by strips of LED lights across the ceiling, but some by
covering the whole of the walls of the subway with light boxes (illuminated
panels). Their lead architect on the project said that these would be similar
to those used in a subway at Kings Cross underground station, illustrated here
 |
|
Light boxes in a subway at Kings Cross
|
The fixings for the light boxes would be positioned over joints
between the tiles of the murals, so that the tile murals would not be damaged.
The lighting could be left white, or could be used to display advertisements:
 |
|
The
light boxes at Kings Cross,
being used for advertising |
Julian Tollast, Quintain’s Head of Masterplanning and Design, set out
four options for the future of the tile murals, which could be included in
their plans for the subway:
1. The murals could be moved
to a new location – although his view, and the
general feeling at the meeting, was that this risked damaging or destroying the
tile murals. It would also take them from their “spiritual home”.
2. A facsimile of the murals
could be created in a different location – His
suggestion was that under the new Olympic Steps (replacing the pedway) might be
a suitable location, but the downsides were that they would not be the
originals, and not in their “spiritual home”.
3. Preserve the murals in
situ, with part on permanent display – It became
clear in discussion that his suggestion was that all of the subway walls would
still be covered by light boxes, but that the lights could be turned off in
front of the section of the mural showing the old stadium and footballers
(Bryan Robson and John Barnes?):
He said that this would not be ideal, as it would reduce the light levels in
the subway, and there would be reflected light from the ceiling, off of the
glazed light boxes, so that the view of the mural would be impaired.
4. Preserve the murals in
situ, with periodic display – Periodic
display of the murals in the subway did not seem probable, because of the
difficulty of removing the light boxes. He suggested that it would be possible
to display the mural sections to the south of the subway (American football /
Rugby League / Ice hockey on the east side, and a rock music drummer on the
west) for short periods when the “Spiritflex” vinyl adverts were being changed.
One option which was not suggested by Quintain (but which was suggested from the
floor of the meeting) was not to install the light boxes at all, but provide
the better lighting instead just from redesigned lighting from the ceiling. The
following slide was shown to justify Quintain’s right to install light boxes
over the tile murals:
I have followed up on this planning
process, and this is what I have found:-
·
15/5550
was a massive “Masterplan” outline application.
·
Although
there is a brief mention of some improvements to the section of Olympic Way between
Fulton Road and the foot of the Wembley Park Station steps, I have found no
reference to ‘light boxes or adverts under Bobby Moore Bridge’ in that
application.
·
There
is no mention of these items in the 94 page Officers’ Report to Planning
Committee (11 May 2016), or the December 2016 decision letter.
·
In
amongst the wide-ranging detailed (reserved matters) application 17/3840, there is no mention of lighting in the
subway in the planning submission.
· There was a plan showing “illuminated panels”, which would cover all
of the walls of the Bobby Moore Bridge subway. This is an extract from the
relevant plan, which does not show the existing features on that wall, or that the lighting would cover tile
murals:
·
Application 17/3840 was decided
by planning officers, not Brent’s Planning Committee. In the “Delegated Report”
there was no reference at all to
the lighting proposals anywhere in the detailed considerations. On the basis of
that report, the application was approved on 31 January 2018.
Planning permission for the light boxes on the walls of the subway,
which if installed will permanently conceal the tile murals, was therefore
given by default, without the effect on the murals, and the loss of this
asset to public view, ever being considered.
As shown by the meeting on 19th October, and the options put
forward at it, Quintain are willing to engage over ideas which could
mitigate the damage to, and loss to public view of, the tile murals. However,
as things stand, there is nothing to stop them from installing light boxes on
the walls of the subway, which would permanently hide the main sections of the
murals, if they decide to “just do it”.
Brent Council own the Bobby Moore Bridge and its subway. They are
responsible for the murals, a major piece of public art illustrating a
range of past famous events at the Stadium and Arena, which were installed in
1993 to be part of the Wembley atmosphere for the millions of people coming
here.
Isn’t it time that Brent Council accepted that they have failed to
give any proper consideration to what is happening to the tile murals, and
intervene to broker a solution to the lighting in the subway, which not only
preserves the murals, but paves the way for them to be returned to public view?
Philip Grant
(with thanks to Julian Tollast for all of the illustrations, from his presentation, used above)
(with thanks to Julian Tollast for all of the illustrations, from his presentation, used above)
