Wembley Stadium lies at the heart of one of Europe's largest redevelopments and while the stadium itself has remained largely untouched by the wider £3 billion regeneration plans, it now looks set to lose its iconic "pedway."

The raised pedestrian walkway leading up towards the stadium has formed part of the iconic structure since the mid 1970s.

It was built to provide a safe route for fans away from the traffic below.

But now, nearly half a century after it was built, Wembley Park developers Quintain have applied to knock it down to make way for a temporary event space, street furniture, advertising banners and trees.

A planning application submitted to Brent Council by Quintain on Tuesday (March 13) pushed forward proposals to demolish the pedway first outlined in its 2009 Wembley Masterplan.

Quintain has promised to deliver more than 40 new shops and restaurants and 7,000 new homes to Wembley Park by 2027.

Here's how Wembley Park will look in 2027

According to Quintain's masterplan the pedway "runs contrary to one of the fundamental principles of current urban design thinking – creating animated and useable spaces at street level."

A temporary event space, street furniture, advertising banners and trees could replace the pedway

It added: "It is recognised that any replacement solution must meet all the safety and operational needs of the National Stadium."

Boxpark Wembley is included in plans to transform Olympic Way and will open later this year with dozens of new shops and restaurants.

CGI images submitted by Quintain alongside its application to flatten the pedway show a ground-level pedestrianised space leading up to a set of steps where the concourse used to be.

There are plans to replace the ramps with a set of steps

A Quintain spokesman said: “We can confirm that a planning application for the replacement of the Olympic Way Pedway ramps with steps has been submitted to London Borough of Brent.

"It has been Brent Council and Quintain’s long held ambition to replace the ramps with a more attractive but equally functional alternative.

"We look forward to progressing through the planning process in the coming weeks and months, working closely with Brent Council and the FA."

If the plans are approved by Brent Council the pedway could be demolished before Wembley Stadium hosts Euro 2020 football matches.

The pedway would be demolished to make way for a ground-level pedestrianised zone

A Brent Council spokesman said: " We can confirm that we have received an application for improvements to the public realm along Olympic Way, involving, amongst other things, new steps up to Wembley Stadium in place of the existing concrete pedway.

"The application is currently being consulted upon.

"All responses will be taken into account, along with the relevant planning policies, when a decision is made on the proposal by the Planning Committee, which is expected to be in the early summer."

Members of the public can comment on the planning application on Brent Council's website here.

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