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Fountain out of action for decade to be repaired

Alison Stephenson
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Torridge District Council A water fountain spraying water into a river. In the background is a bridge. There is a hill with houses. The sky is a light blue with the sun coming out from behind a house. The river is a dark blue. The water coming out of the fountain is clear. Torridge District Council
The tidal water fountain will have £60,000 worth of repairs

A tidal water fountain which was out of action for more than a decade is set to be repaired.

Torridge District Council gave the go ahead for £60,000 to be spent on the fountain in Bideford, which was installed to mark the late Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.

The money would come from nearly £300,000 the government provided for projects in the district, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Councillors heard the Bideford Harbour Board had pushed to get the fountain repaired as it had proved popular with the public.

Economic development officer for the council Chris Fuller said: "Because it was so highly over-complicated it was not able to be fixed at the time because it would have required specialist parts to be made.

"Modern technology... has allowed it to move forward with a far more straightforward solution."

Councillor Annie Brenton said: "We have two tides a day but we could put in a mechanism to have it operating more often so it's working for festivals and events."

In response to concerns about people and property getting wet, she said all the water went into the river, not on the quay, or near people or vehicles.

Torridge District Council A fountain going into the river. There is a small sailing boat with red sails. There is a bridge going across the river. The sky is light blue. The water is a darker blue and the fountain water is clear. There are people walking along on the right. Torridge District Council
The funding came from the government's Rural England Prosperity Fund

Ms Brenton the fountain was "absolutely spectacular, everyone used to come down and see it.

"It was really something worth having, magnificent."

Funding from the government's Rural England Prosperity Fund will also go on delivering 'playzone' to encourage participation in sports in Bideford, Great Torrington and Holsworthy.

There will also be play area upgrades in Bideford, Hartland and Winkleigh and improvements to local signage.

All the projects were due to be completed within the next 12 months.

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