Sign installation at Royal Exchange, Kingston-Upon-Thames

Client

Royal Exchange

Project

New property development

Location

Kingston-upon-Thames

Overview

On the face of it, this looked like a straightforward job, erecting illuminated hoarding cladding to protect and promote a new housing development for one of our major clients. The brief called for a bright, illuminated design along a 200m perimeter around the Royal Exchange development in Kingston-upon-Thames.

Challenge

However, the main concern for us was the narrow pavement and busy road around the site, which was going to cause issues with how we could work safely. We had enough time before this project to plan properly and our client had given us a dedicated area for storing a limited amount of materials. However, it was halfway along the perimeter and we still had to get our equipment and hoarding cladding sheets to the specific work areas every day along the narrow pavement, with traffic rushing by.

Solution

We came up with an innovative solution which we’ll be using on other jobs in the future. We designed a bespoke trolley that could be folded flat to fit into our vans but could be assembled and loaded with cladding sheets. It had ‘all terrain’ wheels to cope with curbs and it worked a treat, mainly because the whole team, especially those who would have to use it, were involved in the design.

Of course we had to run the design and construction past our client for health and safety reasons, but they were so delighted with our idea they promoted it within their organisation as an example of how sub-contractors can overcome problems with a bit of inventive thinking.

We also instructed a traffic management company to cordon off areas of pavement every day, on a rolling basis, for us to work in. We had to be very safety conscious working by such a lot of traffic, particularly when members of the public kept getting around the barriers and walking along the busy road behind us.

As for the design, we used built-up illuminated lettering and two recessed light boxes so that it didn’t stick out over the pavement. The hoarding will be in place for a while, so the lightbox design allows us to update replaceable message panels easily and cost-effectively.

 

Results

Inventive Onsite Logistics

A custom-built, foldable trolley with all-terrain wheels solved access issues on a narrow, high-traffic pavement—boosting efficiency and earning client-wide recognition for innovation.

Safe, Streamlined Installation

Proactive planning and daily traffic management enabled safe working conditions, with rolling pavement cordons ensuring minimal disruption to the public and road users.

Durable, Flexible Design

The illuminated hoarding featured recessed lightboxes and replaceable panels—delivering strong visual impact while allowing easy future updates without added cost.

Gallery

Contact Reade Signs today to learn how we can help transform your property marketing efforts.