ePetition details
Allow the heritage tile murals in the Bobby Moore Bridge subway at Wembley Park to be put back on permanent public display, by only granting a new advertising lease for the parapets of the bridge.
The Bobby Moore Bridge and subway were created under a 1991 Brent Council scheme to pedestrianise Olympic Way, in advance of the 1996 Euros football tournament. With support from Wembley Stadium, the Council commissioned a large public artwork to decorate the walls of the subway from the station, and the Olympic Way walls as you emerge from the subway.
That public artwork was a ceramic tile mural, made up of
individual scenes celebrating a variety of sports and entertainment
events from the history of Wembley Stadium and Arena. These Bobby
Moore Bridge tile murals were designed to welcome the millions of
people passing through the subway each year, on their way to
stadium and arena events, with a colourful reminder of Wembley
Park’s heritage.
The subway was officially opened in September 1993 by the widow of
the former World Cup-winning England football captain, who unveiled
a plaque set into one of the mural scenes, showing England
footballers playing at the “twin towers” Wembley
Stadium, naming the bridge ‘in honour of a football
legend’.
In 2013, Brent Council granted an advertising lease which allowed a Quintain subsidiary to cover the murals on the tile walls with vinyl advertising sheets, and to erect advertising signs on the walls above both entrances to the subway. A further advertising lease was agreed from August 2017 to August 2021.
In 2019, Quintain applied for, and were given (despite strong public opposition), permission to install LED light panels, to be used for advertising, on the walls of the subway, and larger advertising screens on the bridge parapets. The only concession they made, after campaigning by Wembley History Society, was to put the “footballers” mural scene on the east wall of the subway back on permanent public display. The existing lease was also subsequently extended by an additional three years to August 2024.
During the 2019 planning process, Brent acknowledged that the Bobby Moore Bridge tile murals were a heritage asset. At the start of Brent’s year as London Borough of Culture, in January 2020, three of the large tile mural scenes on the east wall of Olympic Way, just outside of the subway were put back on temporary display. The Council publicised the event, saying:
‘The tiles, which show scenes from famous sports and entertainment events at Wembley Stadium and the SSE Arena, Wembley, are part of Brent’s rich heritage.’
The tile murals in Olympic Way are now back on permanent public display.
The end of the current advertising lease is an opportunity to allow Wembley Park’s residents and visitors to enjoy all of the tile murals in the subway again, for the first time since 2013. Potential advertisers have been asked to submit two bids in the tender process for the new advertising lease. One bid will be for adverting on the bridge parapets only, and the other will be for the bridge parapets and the subway walls.
Brent’s Forward Plan shows that the decision on the award
of the new advertising lease is scheduled for the Cabinet meeting
on 28 May 2024. This petition aims to show the level of support
from people in the borough for the tile mural scenes in the subway
to be put back on permanent public display.
Started by: Philip Grant
This ePetition ran from 11/03/2024 to 10/05/2024 and has now finished.
114 people signed this ePetition.