Marble Arch Mound: Controversial attraction forced to shut just days after opening

The Marble Arch Mound has already started to fall apart as the controversial attraction is forced to shut just days after opening.

As heavy rains fell again on Wednesday (July 28) – plants and turf turned to mud and slipped off the structure.

Sections of the mound had to be covered in wired netting to prevent them from sliding down.

Dying plants were spotted next to the temporary structure and large sections of grass had turned brown.

Westminster Council has already apologised for the Oxford Street hill and offered refunds to the much-maligned new £2m attraction.

But onlookers David Braithwaite and Christian Evans have been seeing the positives in the structure.

David said: “I’m kind of amazed at how amazing Marble Arch looks now since they introduced this big hill.

“You can not even see the top of Oxford Street. Where are Extinction Rebellion when you need them?”

Christian added: “It’s not often a piece of architecture makes me want to commit a criminal activity.

“There is a part of me that gets it but round the side is a load of plants that are actually dying because they don’t have enough soil.

“They must be laughing at us.”

Just a day after the mound opened to the public, Westminster Council said parts of it were “not yet ready for visitors”.

Anyone who has booked a ticket for the first week will be contacted and offered a refund, as well as a free return ticket.

The structure was originally intended to be opened on July 5 but had to be delayed by 21 days as it was not ready for the public.

On its opening day on July 26 workers were still trying to add plants to the 5,000sq foot exhibition space with some working as late as 11pm to try and get the structure ready.

The 25-metre tall mound, designed by Dutch architects, was supposed to give views of Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Mayfair and Marylebone.

Organisers hope the mound will attract 200,000 ticket holders with “millions expected to pass through the area to take a glimpse of the attraction”.

Westminster opposition leader councillor Adam Hug said: “The council needs to urgently fix the outstanding defects with the Mound and undertake an urgent review about what went wrong. Taxpayers must not be left footing the bill for these failings if it misses its ticket targets.”

In a statement, Westminster Council said: “We are aware that elements of the Marble Arch Mound are not yet ready for visitors.

“We are working hard to resolve this over the next few days.

“The mound is a living building by design.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “As we continue to recover from the pandemic, we need to look at ways to encourage tourists back into the West End to experience all it has to offer. That’s why the Mayor has invested £6 million in Let’s Do London – the biggest domestic tourism campaign ever launched by the capital.

“Temporary visitor attractions can play an important role in attracting footfall to areas of London that have suffered greatly over the past 18-months”

“And in the longer term we also have to make our high streets cleaner, greener and more attractive on a permanent basis – ensuring people can enjoy their time in the West End even more.”