Advertising company Van Wagner have won an appeal to keep two hoarding towers; one on display on top of the old texaco garage along the M4 elevated section, and the other at Brentford, located above the new Casualty Plus site.

The hoardings, especially the tower along the M4, put up only four weeks ago, had met with persistent opposition from Hounslow Council who declared that the advertisements were not only in the wrong position but that they exceeded the limit of six words stipulated in the planning permission.

In the case of the hoarding erected along the M4 situated in front of the derelict warehouse Westgate House, the Council felt that this breach posed a danger to motorists who would be distracted by the advertisement. However following an appeal by Van Wagner at the council's decision, Malcolm Roe, one of three state appointed inspectors, ruled that this was not the case.

"(The hoardings) are unlikely to be so distracting that they create a hazard to those in the vicinity who are taking reasonable care of their own and others driving," he stated.

It was also ruled that Van Wagner were not in breach of planning permission, both in relation to size and word count, as the inclusion of numbers in the advertisement did not constitute as words. Rejecting the Council's claim that the sign contravened the interest of amenity and road safety, the inspector stated: "The appeal site falls within an area of primarily commercial buildings and sites, a number of which are proposed by the council for redevelopment. These include the Alfa Tower, Westgate House, the Baltic Centre and the Lucozade Building. This is not a locality where an advertising panel of the type proposed would appear out of keeping or detrimental to the current amenities of an area that is clearly in need of thorough redevelopment."

Van Wagner's UK Director of Town Planning, Phil Koscien, said: "Van Wagner UK Limited is immensely proud of its achievements in gaining permission for two advertising towers along the A4/M4 corridor."