Local Residents Furious As Town Centre Made To Look Like Mario Level

As reported by Birmingham Live and brought to our attention via Nintendo Life, residents of Walsall in the British Midlands are somewhat divided over, ahem, some very games-reminiscent improvements to their town centre.

The local council has brought some new colour to Walsall by installing a number of oversized, bright-green plant pots. And while they're not exactly the spitting image of the warp pipes from Nintendo's Super Mario series of games, you can see why the residents have complained that the additions make their town look like it's part of the Mushroom Kingdom.

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Birmingham Live reports that Walsall Council's decision to install the pots has put them under fire from locals. Fifteen of the planters are currently in place, but residents have called them an eyesore, and complained that they represent a waste of public money.

Local florist Andrea Loveridge is quoted as considering them "garish monstrosities", adding: "It beggars belief. It makes the place look more like something from Super Mario Brothers. They look like those warp pipes Mario jumps down." And yes, they do, a bit.

You can see the plant pots in, um, action I guess, in the video below (or watch on YouTube).

Another local interviewed by Birmingham Live calls the pots "a garish eyesore and a complete waste of taxpayer's money". But surely not everyone in Walsall is down on these green newcomers to the town's centre? If you're a local, why not let us know if you approve of these quite-pipe-like additions.

Adrian Andrew of Walsall Council told Birmingham Live: "The work in Walsall Town Centre is intended to deliver a range of improvements to promote a feeling of wellbeing and safety and enhance the town centre environment, and a key element of this work was to introduce more planting into the town centre to create a more social space outside the Walsall Art Gallery."

And certainly, it's likely these Mario-like planters will have a few extra curious peeps passing by for a peek, in the coming days and weeks. In related Mario news, Super Mario 64 is playable where you are, right now (i.e., online), and the recent exploits of the Nintendo mascot is just one reason why the Switch is, probably, the greatest console of all time.

Featured Image Credit: Nintendo

Topics: Super Mario, Nintendo, Retro Gaming