Marble Arch Mound mocked on social media as ‘monstrosity’ and ‘waste of money’

The Marble Arch Mound, intended to encourage people back to the West End, has been mocked as a “monstrosity” and “waste of money”.

The 25-metre mound, planned by Dutch architect company MVRDV, is designed to give views of the capital’s Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Mayfair and Marylebone as part of a scheme to increase footfall in the shopping district as lockdown restrictions ease.

But it has been roundly panned by Londoners and people outside the capital.

Have you seen that monstrosity at Marble Arch? The Mound? Complete and utter waste of money, and people are being charged to walk on it 🙄

— Ben (@BennyBoygr) July 28, 2021

The New York Times described it as “a pile of scaffolding”, while another social media user pointed out the money spent would have been better used funding police officers or housing the homeless.

oh man, the foreigners have noticed us doing something silly again https://t.co/qGyMZYOgC0 pic.twitter.com/4PFjqlXUcr

— Katie Martin (@katie_martin_fx) July 28, 2021

Whoever signed off on this needs a sharp lesson in "how to spend money wisely for the good of the people".

£2,000,000 on a pile of earth next to something like Marble Arch is an utter disgrace while
Veterans are homeless, Police are underfunded... Right, @SadiqKhan ?
Shocking.

— Tea, Milk, No Sugar (@TeaMilkNosugar1) July 28, 2021

One visitor posted a picture of the view from the mound which extends towards Battersea Power Station but with much of it hidden by trees.

I was at Marble Arch on top of the Mound. This was my view. pic.twitter.com/k5PjYYANUa

— Maggie - wear a mask 💙🏳️‍🌈🌱 (@maggieinlondon) July 28, 2021

Opposition councillors in Westminster said the council had made a mistake commissioning the work.

Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Shadow Cabinet Member for Business and Planning, said “The Mound has become a national, and now international, joke in less than 24 hours with the Evening Standard describing it as ‘the worst visitor attraction in London’.

“This monument to municipal vanity has made a laughing-stock of Westminster’s leadership and brought the council into disrepute. Westminster Council owes its residents an immediate apology for wasting £2m of their money on this folly.”