A permanent monument to those who have died of an Aids-defining illness could be installed at a site in Fitzrovia if plans submitted to Camden Council this month are given the go ahead.
Charity AIDS Memory UK (AMUK) has proposed an artwork which incorporates public seating to be sited at a cobblestone-paved part of the public highway at South Crescent off Store Street.
The stone sculpture will “commemorate those who lost their lives in the HIV/Aids epidemic” and provide a focal point giving “comfort to those who grieve” states the planning application submitted to the local authority.
A “Halo Tree” design by artist Anya Gallaccio, first revealed last year, would be sited in an open area east of Tottenham Court Road, a short walk from the now demolished Middlesex Hospital where the UK’s first dedicated HIV/Aids ward was opened by Princess Diana in 1987.
Gallaccio’s artwork is made of red-pink-grey Aberdeen granite, and is inspired by a felled tree consisting of a central core and surrounding rings, standing above ground level.
Made up of four elements, it will occupy a space nearly eight metres wide and will stand three metres high.
It will incorporate text carved into the stone evoking the individual people affected by HIV/Aids and will be illuminated at night.
To site the artwork a small tree will need to be removed and some cobblestones will be lifted, refaced, before being returned to the site to improve public access, states the application.
The project has been led by playwright, film maker and HIV campaigner Ash Kotak who founded AMUK in 2016.
A public consultation on the plans is open until 1 October 2025.
Camden Council, planning application: 2025/3926/P, Installation of permanent public art comprising “Halo Tree” sculpture and associated works, South Crescent, London WC1E 7EU.
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