The £6 million Marble Arch Mound is finally coming down in January!

The Council has told us:

“The Marble Arch Mound will close to the public on 9th January. The process of decommissioning the Mound will begin on 10th January, with the removal of the art installation and onsite operator facilities. Deconstruction of the Mound will then begin 18 January 2022 and our contractors FM Conway will erect site perimeter barrier. It is anticipated that the decommissioning work will be completed around May 2022.”

The Marble Arch Mound cost £6 million – three times the original budget – and entry up the Mound has been free since it opened as the Council had to scrap the plan to charge visitors because of the very poor reaction to the promised ‘spectacular views’ that never materialised.

The Council’s Deputy Leader, who was responsible for the project, resigned. An internal Council report found, “despite clear and repeated warnings”, the Mound was left unfinished and plans to recoup costs with entry charges had to be scrapped. The review also found:

“There was a breakdown of project management of the Mound which, amongst other issues, led to confusion over roles and responsibilities, a lack of communication between staff and contractors working on different elements of the Marble Arch Mound project and a basic lack of project coordination and documentation.” 

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Labour City Management spokesperson said:

“The £6 Million Marble Arch Mound fiasco has shown that Westminster Conservatives can no longer be trusted with public money. The basic lack of financial control on this major project is a stark warning to residents that the Conservatives have failed to manage public money properly. It has cost Council Tax payers around £150,000 a month to keep the Mound open, when this money could be better spent on services for young people and the elderly.” 

“The only way in which this appalling catalogue of mistakes can be avoided in the future is for the voters to reject the Conservatives at next May’s Council elections and elect a Labour Council committed to high standards of financial control and high-quality public services.”