Wandsworth council rejects 'messy' replacement for the 'pretzel' landmark that featured in A Clockwork Orange

From the Newshound archive · first published 20 September 2026 · last updated 21 September 2026.

Wandsworth's planning committee voted Thursday night to reject advertising firm Wildstone Estates' proposal to replace the 'pretzel' — the circular structure above Wandsworth Roundabout — with a timber tree-inspired design, overruling its own officers' recommendation to approve the scheme. Labour councillor Matthew Tiller urged the committee to 'listen to the outcry in defence of the current structure,' describing the replacement as 'messy and incongruous.' The privately funded proposal would have risen to roughly 25 metres with four advertising boards slightly larger than those on the original.

Standing above the south London underpass since 1995, the 'pretzel' gained wider recognition after appearing in Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange.'

The proposed replacement drew 153 formal objections from residents, who branded it an 'eyesore' and 'a complete waste of money.'

Wildstone Estates took on the structure last year through a long lease with Transport for London, with the aim of increasing revenue at the site.