Marble Arch Mound To Close.

[Drago]

I wonder if there was a better way to spend £6,000,000 of tax payers money...
And how much it will now cost to remove it!

Apparently the twot who championed the idea himself 200 gees a year.

Sack him and save 6,200,000 in ine fell swoop. He should habe been sacked for gross incompetence and not allowed to fall on his sword.

 

[fossyant]

Anyone need some turf and topsoil ?

 

[Arrowfoot]

There is a saying " never give a small man a big idea" and this might be such a situation.

The Council needed to have a magnet to draw in people into London core as foot traffic for retail had fallen by 50%. They had £150M transformational budget and £3.3M went into it. It's only 2.2% of the total budget for the program. Relatively very small and so far so good. Still small after the doubling.

The London Eye for example was a totally unplanned and unexpected tourist attraction by a million miles. Designed with sponsorship for the Millennium celebration, it was to be taken down. But crowds continued and still continue.

In same vein something similar I suppose was conceived - very big to the eye and visitors having a panoramic view albeit at shorter height plus an envornmental theme for political correctness and to be with the times.

I think where they failed is oversight by a group of advisors and experts. It was not the cost that damaged the Council but how gross it turned out to be. It showed how poorly managed it was.

Ps. Btw the London Eye concept caught around the World but most failed financially. Personally the view of London at that vantage point made the difference. Singapore is a great example - went into financial trouble twice, still struggling. Lack of crowds because the owners became greedy and charged high prices including shop rentals which in turn charged a king's ransom for basic food.

 

[Drago]

Wish Id been at rhe meting where someone said, "The London Eye has been a huge success. Some scaffolding with a bit of astroturf draped over it is bound to be as popular."

 

[Jenkins]

If the figures given by @Blue Hills and @PeteXXX are correct, the cost was just under £25 per visitor

 

[Cycleops]

Wish Id been at rhe meting where someone said, "The London Eye has been a huge success. Some scaffolding with a bit of astroturf draped over it is bound to be as popular."

Exactly what I was thinking. Imagine the meeting where this thing got traction:

Proposer: This firm of award winning architects have come up with this brilliant idea for an attraction in central London. It's a mound that people can walk up and view the area.

Sceptic: A mound of earth? What appeal would that have? And how much will it cost?

P: A bargain at £3m. We can recoup some cost by charging to go up it.

S: That much. Don't think I'd pay to go up that. Doesn't sound very appealing to me

P: That's what they said about the Ferris wheel but look at that.

 

[Arrowfoot]

The folly of elected officials. Most of them would not succeed in the corporate World and that includes many of the MPs.

 

[bagpuss]

Looked like a case of fly tipping imho.

 

[postman]

I wonder how much Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh cost.

 

[Slick]

We are a tad frugal to be paying actual cash money for something that happens naturally up here.

 

[Cycleops]

We are a tad frugal to be paying actual cash money for something that happens naturally up here.

You or your profile don’t say where you are but I take it you’re somewhere that very hilly, maybe the highlands? That would go with the frugal bit. Not many hills in London though so bit of a novelty. Maybe your local council could build a flat bit and bill it as a tourist attraction

 

[Slick]

You or your profile don’t say where you are but I take it you’re somewhere that very hilly, maybe the highlands? That would go with the frugal bit. Not many hills in London though so bit of a novelty. Maybe your local council could build a flat bit and bill it as a tourist attraction

I'm writing a strongly worded email to them now. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

 

[PeteXXX]

Apparently, there's now a petition to keep it open..

 

[PeteXXX]

With a target of 100, its nearly reached its goal!

~Change.org~

 

[DaveReading]

I believe all the signatures are from frustrated cyclists who want the chance to set a Strava KoM.