Marble Arch Mound: Call for viewing platform to be removed

The Marble Arch Mound cost nearly triple its original budget

London's Marble Arch Mound should be put "out of its misery" and removed as soon as possible, opposition councillors have said.

The viewing platform was commissioned by Westminster City Council but ran over budget and has been dubbed "London's worst attraction".

The council's Labour group called the mound "an international embarrassment" that needed to be dismantled.

Westminster City Council said the attraction was now "drawing in crowds".

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The man-made hill was commissioned by the council to attract visitors back to central London after the pandemic.

It cost about £6m to build, almost triple its budget, and the entrance fee was dropped in August after the plants started to die.

The deputy leader of Westminster council, who was responsible for the project, resigned after the cost escalated.

Labour group leader Adam Hug told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the mound, which is due to close in January, was "a major embarrassment to the Westminster Council who have lost £6m of taxpayers' money".

"It's time to get rid of the Conservatives and put the mound out of its misery," he added.

The Labour group has also called for an independent review of the process that led to the spiralling costs of the project.

The group said in a statement on its website: "The council has given up on trying to recover the cost of the mound and it remains an international embarrassment to the city."

A live stream of the mound is available online

However, Matthew Green, the council's cabinet member for planning, business and licensing, said the attraction was now "drawing in crowds and supporting the recovery in this part of London, which is what we've always wanted and the reason we built the mound".

He added: "We're really pleased that 90,000 people have already visited... it's a fantastic celebration of arts and culture, which are central to the City of Westminster's unique role at the heart of London."

The council is set to discuss the future of the mound and Labour's proposal at a meeting on Wednesday.