Mound
Mound

Labour are pushing a motion that will be debated at Westminster City Council’s full council meeting on Wednesday 22nd September challenging the Conservative administration’s embarrassing failure over the £6 million Marble Arch Mound.

Labour are making three important demands on the council:

  • That it appoints an independent reviewer to oversee evidence into what went wrong with the Mound project
  • That it pauses all major capital spending in the West End district project until any review has reported and its recommendations have been actioned
  • That, as the Council has given up on trying to recover the cost of the Mound and it remains an international embarrassment to the city, steps are taken to remove the Mound as soon as possible

So far the Council have resisted calls for an independent inquiry but they have stopped trying to bounce through millions of pounds of spending on ‘temporary’ piazzas at Oxford Circus given the fallout of the Mound debacle. They have admitted that they have failed to deliver significant sponsorship and have made the mound free to enter, which leaves Westminster residents to pick up the bill.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Adam Hug said “The Mound project has been a major embarrassment to the Westminster Council who have lost £6 million of taxpayers’ money. It highlights the incompetence and arrogance of a Conservative administration that has been in power for far too long. It’s time to get rid of the Conservatives and put the Mound out of its misery.”

Westminster Labour motion on the Marble Arch Mound

This Council notes that the cost of the Marble Arch Mound has risen to over £6 million.

This Council notes that the delivery of the Mound project has brought international embarrassment to the City of Westminster.

This Council also notes that the Marble Arch Mound is part of a wider £150m West End District project that contains significant spending including on the Strand-Aldwich and piazzas at Oxford Circus.

This Council believes that both Council Members and Westminster residents were misled by the political leadership of the Council about the progress of the Marble Arch Mound project.

This Council believes that the failure of the council’s project management and the gulf between rhetoric and reality is indicative of a Conservative administration that has been in power for far too long.

This Council further believes that the inability to charge the planned ticket fees and the failure to secure much of the projected sponsorship leaves Westminster taxpayers picking up the £6 million bill for the Mound.

This Council resolves to appoint an independent reviewer to advise and oversee the investigation into the Council’s processes, decision making and organisational culture stemming from this debacle.

The Council resolves not to proceed with further major capital investments within the West End district project until all reviews of council decision making relating to the Marble Arch Mound and related issues are completed, have received full scrutiny by members and proper public consultations on future projects have taken place with local residents.

This council finally resolves to take steps to dismantle and remove the Marble Arch Mound as soon as is practicable.

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