Lok’nStore Group PLC, which operates more than 30 self-storage facilities in the United Kingdom, is opening a new facility in Exeter, England, next month that residents are calling a “ridiculous” eyesore that “glows like the sun.” The facility in the Matford Business Park features a bright-orange exterior with multiple illuminated signs, according to the source.
Lok’nStore received permission from the planning department in December to convert the former Husseys Auction Centre to self-storage. The site is in the Marsh Barton trading estate, near the newly built Stagecoach UK Bus depot. According to the planning application, it’s remote from “any sensitive land uses such as housing,” and not within an “area with designated and sensitive area such as green belt.” As such, the property has a commercial rather than residential character, “where a degree of commercial advertisement display is to be expected and is considered acceptable in planning terms.”
Some residents disagree. Mike Birch, who lives three miles away on Countess Wear Road, said he and his neighbors are unhappy with the bright exterior and can clearly see the illumination from their property. “We know that the spread of Marsh Barton just grows along that valley, but all of the warehouses they usually do are sympathetic colors like pale grey and off-white. My company has a large warehouse in Marsh Barton and that’s grey,” he said.
The “huge splash of orange” can also be seen from Riverside Valley Park recreation area. “It glows like the sun. It’s so ridiculous,” Birch said. “They now have the brightest illumination you can imagine all around the top of the building.”
In a statement, a Lok’nStore representative said, “We are delighted to be opening this fantastic self-storage facility in April. We have invested significantly in Exeter to provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art self-storage location.”
Founded in 1995, Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis.
Source:
Devon Live, Residents' Fury at Eyesore Bright Orange Building That 'Glows Like The Sun'