Uxbridge Road Corner Building Could Be Covered by Shroud
One of a string of applications for 'building wraps' with advertising panels
A visualisation of how the shroud might look from the application
March 13, 2023
A company specialising in ‘building wraps’ is aiming to cover 54 Uxbridge Road, the corner building overlooking Shepherd’s Bush Green next to Shepherd’s Bush Station, with a shroud including an illuminated advertisement while the building is reroofed and repaired.
An application by the company, Blow Up Media, which is currently being considered by the council is as follows:
2023/00262/ADV | Display of an externally illuminated shroud advertisement to the eastern elevation measuring 7.5m (Height) x 10m (Width) for a temporary period of 8 months.
It is one of a string of applications made by companies like Blow Up Media to cover building sites across the borough with shrouds containing advertising panels.
These shrouds are becoming increasingly common as owners and developers look for ways of helping to pay their building costs.
54 Uxbridge Road as it is now
In the application, Blow Up Media says, “ Decorative scaffold shroud screen advertisements are now becoming more popular as an alternative to bare scaffold and act as a safety screen to works and prevent dust/debris etc and add visual interest during the works period.”
An accompanying company brochure claims: “ Building sites can have style. We take unattractive development sites and transform them into active urban spaces creating beautiful, yet in keeping, building wraps that enhance the visual amenity of public spaces for everyone.”
H&F Council however, remains unconvinced, with most of these applications being refused. Recent applications by the company for a shroud covering West Kensington Court on the corner of West Cromwell Road and North End Road and another in the centre of North End Road’s shopping area have both been turned down.
Grounds for refusal include safety issues, with the council saying they can create a distraction for drivers and their visual overdominance.
54 Uxbridge Road however, is unusual, as it has twice before been granted consent for a shroud during building work - firstly in 2013 and again in 2016. On both occasions, the applications were refused by the council, but subsequently granted at appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
Following the appeal in 2016, Planning Inspector David Leeming said: “ ‘In my judgement the proposed shroud and advertisement would be more attractive than the likely alternative of unadorned and unsightly scaffolding. Therefore, the proposal, for a temporary period whilst scaffolding is in place, would have a broadly neutral effect which would preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area and thus would not harm visual amenity.”
Should the council once again say no, Blow Up Media is very likely to launch another appeal. The company is already appealing to the Planning Inspectorate to overturn the refusals on both of the other sites.
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