London’s troubled tourist attraction Marble Arch Mound will remain free indefinitely, it’s been announced.
Westminster City Council scrapped the £6.50 entry fee for August after criticism from disappointed visitors about the incomplete project.
A spokesperson said: ‘We built the Mound to bring people back into the West End at a time when low footfall continues to have a negative effect on businesses and jobs in the area.
‘It’s encouraging that, since it’s been free to climb, over 60,000 people have visited.
‘We believe continuing to offer free entry will encourage even more people to visit and spend time in our city – boosting local business, protecting jobs and bringing the buzz back to our streets.’
The temporary mound, due to be removed in January, has been beset with problems from the start.
It closed two days after its launch in late July after council officials admitted it wasn’t ready.
The 72ft structure with a viewing platform is meant to offer ‘rare views’ over Hyde Park, Oxford Street and Marble Arch.
But visitors often felt let down, with Emma Wright calling it ‘the worst thing I’ve ever done in London’.
Its cost has nearly doubled from a forecasted £3.3 million to more than £6 million and it forced the deputy leader of the council responsible for the project to resign.
The council’s leader, Rachael Robathan, said her deputy Melvyn Caplan had resigned with immediate effect after the ‘totally unacceptable’ rise in costs.
A new exhibition space at the top and a pavement level cafe are being built.
MORE : Entry to Marble Arch Mound is now free after visitors mocked it a ‘trash heap’
MORE : Boss behind ‘trash heap’ Marble Arch Mound admits it was a ‘mistake’
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