Acton community comes together to celebrate the town’s roots with impressive roundabout sculpture, funded by Your Acton BID
In true community spirit, Business Improvement District, Your Acton BID, rallied together some of the best in local talent to erect a new focal point on Acton’s roundabout, the injection to Uxbridge Road, Steyne Road and High Street.
The final design –a metal Oak Tree symbolising Acton’s historic meaning as ‘Oak Town’– was chosen by local residents via an online vote and brought to life by BID business member, 3D Eye, the masters behind some of Harrods’ most iconic window displays.
The impressive sculpture is manufactured out of mirror stainless steel pipe and rod, with laser-cut oak leaves and a trunk laced with mirrored dials. Many of which were heat treated to give dazzling colours when lit up at night.
“[It’s] a busy roundabout with considerations of visibility for vehicle users plus aesthetic considerations for the local residents. We came up with a number of ideas and the metal tree with leaves and theatrical lighting was finally selected.” Says Sally Regis, a 3D Eye artist involved in the build and installation of the Oak Tree sculpture. “It was such a pleasure working with Acton Bid.”.
The roundabout was redesigned from a traffic light system to a roundabout in 2014 to help the flow of traffic. But with maintenance since declining, Your Acton BID saw an opportunity for change, taking the idea to Ealing Council and its councillors with a goal to deliver a beautiful focal point in Acton’s Town Centre.
Three designs were put to a public vote in July 2022, each designed to significantly reduce the need for regular maintenance. Permission was granted and work started at the end of November 2022.
Local businesses were brought on board to collaborate on the project, with self-maintaining flowers planted to attract pollinators, reduce emissions, and beautify the space. Auberon Bayley, CEO of Cultivate London, the local Social Enterprise tasked with flowering the area says “We are very proud to collaborate with the Acton BID team in giving the roundabout in Acton a sprinkle of beautiful Lavender to uplift the area.”.
Local residents are enjoying the improvement too, sharing their thoughts on social media. “It’s great and much safer than before. A real beautiful touch to the area” said one, “Looks great. A classy installation.” said another.
Natasha Patel, Manager of Your Acton BID is proud of the result, “Creating this beautiful gateway to Acton is a huge accomplishment for us. We’re proud to have worked with local businesses within Acton to deliver this project.”.