London's Marble Arch 'Mound' disaster

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58197626

The deputy leader of a London council responsible for the ballooning costs of the Marble Arch Mound has resigned.

Melvyn Caplan stepped down immediately after total costs nearly doubled to £6m, up from a forecast of £3.3m.

Ticketholders were offered refunds for the artificial viewing platform which temporarily closed within two days of opening on 26 July.

Complete idiocy.

They wanted to get more people to Oxford Street whose stores are struggling due to the general decline in in-person shopping and because the more attractive Regent Street is taking all the top-end retail stores.

Oxford Street is full of traffic and crappy (and rather suspicious) American Candy Stores.

For as long as I can remember people have been pleading for Oxford Street to be pedestrianised. Make into a massive street where you can have plants, tables outside for cafes and pubs, and lots of room for people to shop rather than being crammed into crowded pavements next to vehicles. People hate Oxford Street because there is no room to move and lots of traffic.

So what do they do? Build a massive pointless hill at the end of it at a cost of £6 million. Idiots.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58197626



Complete idiocy.

They wanted to get more people to Oxford Street whose stores are struggling due to the general decline in in-person shopping and because the more attractive Regent Street is taking all the top-end retail stores.

Oxford Street is full of traffic and crappy (and rather suspicious) American Candy Stores.

For as long as I can remember people have been pleading for Oxford Street to be pedestrianised. Make into a massive street where you can have plants, tables outside for cafes and pubs, and lots of room for people to shop rather than being crammed into crowded pavements next to vehicles. People hate Oxford Street because there is no room to move and lots of traffic.

So what do they do? Build a massive pointless hill at the end of it at a cost of £6 million. Idiots.

Westminster Council knows no bounds to its profligacy. It stood alone in the way of pedestrianising Oxford Street and came up with this daft waste of money. It should pedestrianise Oxford Street and forget this mound of mud.

[Carth]

Maybe they'll shove a wind turbine on it now . . or a big statue . . . or some rabbits . . or spend another £4 million flattening it

Westminster Council need to listen for once instead of coming up with these stupid ideas. It's so obvious what the problems with the area around the West End are and they don't address them. They don't try to make Oxford Street a nicer place to shop, they don't do anything about the weird amount of vape, American candy and crappy souvenir shops that pop up and close down constantly

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

Westminster Council need to listen for once instead of coming up with these stupid ideas. It's so obvious what the problems with the area around the West End are and they don't address them. They don't try to make Oxford Street a nicer place to shop, they don't do anything about the weird amount of vape, American candy and crappy souvenir shops that pop up and close down constantly

I'm embarrassed when visitors to London say they want to go to Oxford Street for shopping, it really lets the country down. I direct them instead to Westfield, or even out to Kingston if they must insist on shopping.

Originally Posted by Damien

Westminster Council need to listen for once instead of coming up with these stupid ideas. It's so obvious what the problems with the area around the West End are and they don't address them. They don't try to make Oxford Street a nicer place to shop, they don't do anything about the weird amount of vape, American candy and crappy souvenir shops that pop up and close down constantly

To be fair that’s exactly what every medium sized town centre in Britain looks like now. No reason why London should escape it.

Originally Posted by Chris

To be fair that’s exactly what every medium sized town centre in Britain looks like now. No reason why London should escape it.

I think this is something else. This isn't just an issue with having one of those shops but how many they are and how fleeting they exist in vacant units before disappearing again.

London rent is expensive. You have these American candy shops more commonly appear than a Pret or Starbucks does and no one is ever in them.

Private Eye did a piece on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comm...ouvenir_shops/

Something weird is going on.

[mrmistoffelees]

Originally Posted by Damien

I think this is something else. This isn't just an issue with having one of those shops but how many they are and how fleeting they exist in vacant units before disappearing again.

London rent is expensive. You have these American candy shops more commonly appear than a Pret or Starbucks does and no one is ever in them.

Private Eye did a piece on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comm...ouvenir_shops/

Something weird is going on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrH_PRKsf4

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

I think this is something else. This isn't just an issue with having one of those shops but how many they are and how fleeting they exist in vacant units before disappearing again.

London rent is expensive. You have these American candy shops more commonly appear than a Pret or Starbucks does and no one is ever in them.

Private Eye did a piece on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comm...ouvenir_shops/

Something weird is going on.

Possibly a rates scam too as a landlord pays rates on a vacant property but not on one occupied. Get a charity in, no rates. No charity, get a company in, it closes down after a rates demand and get another one in its place. Probably with no rental charge.

Why not reduce the rent so it's now affordable? You would then potentially have to reduce everyone's rent and you may have some honest tenants locked into expensive arrangements.

[1andrew1]

Westminster Council says it hoped to get 200,000 visitors a day. If the mound is open 12 hours a day that's 276 people per minute, more than four a second.

Someone at Westminster has definitely been using Priti Patel's calculator, that is clearly impossible!

[spiderplant]

According to the BBC article above
"Organisers had hoped the mound would attract 200,000 ticketholders ... before it is taken down in January."
Which seems more plausible