The Marble Arch roundabout is a professional beggar encampment

• THE Marble Arch Monument is being refurbished, sponsored by Gucci. High-end fashion meets wasteland.

The Marble Arch roundabout is a disgrace. It is first and foremost a professional beggar encampment (see picture) complete with washing facilities in the fountains and open-air cooking. The pigeons make as much mess.

Surely a small investment in new benches and a licence for a few food wagons selling an assortment of coffee, cakes and falafel could turn this into a tourist photo opportunity rather than somewhere they scurry through.

This is the gateway to Hyde Park. Offer something more than litter and stationary buses. Add it to the Oxford Street development but don’t abandon it.

JIM HILL
Archery Steps
St George’s Fields, W2