Londoners to enjoy ‘champagne of water’ with drink fountain restoration

Posted 7th July 2010

More than 40 Victorian and Edwardian fountains are to be restored in the capital’s Royal Parks, enabling the public to drink water from them for the first time in decades.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, this morning announced the year-long rejuvenation programme of ornamental and drinking fountains in Hyde Park and the seven other Royal Parks.

Tiffany & Co. Foundation will fund the restoration, making an £850,000 (US$1.25 million) donation to the Royal Parks Foundation.

Under the programme, called Tiffany — Across the Water, between 25 and 30 of the Royal Parks’ 43 drinking fountains will be restored. A new fountain in St James’s Park will also be created.

Older fountains that are so decayed that they can no longer be used for drinking will be replaced. An international competition is to be launched to design the new fountains.

The programme was launched at the Italian Gardens, which will also be improved, in Kensington Gardens.

Sara Lom told The Times: “We won’t be destroying beautiful fountains. But there is one, for example, that looks like a bit of drainpipe with a tap — that is the type that will be replaced.”

She said that it was hoped that the design competition would produce a modern fountain that could be a blueprint for fountains in parks across the world. Any modern fountain would need to fit in with the landscape of the Royal Parks, she said, as they are heritage listed.

“The reason the parks are so beautiful and respected by the public is because they are so well looked after. Once you start getting something that is not so well looked after, that’s when you start getting problems [like vandalism],” she said.

Mr Johnson said that the Tiffany grant would enable the restoration of a “beautiful and civilised” amenity. He said that the UK was spending £2 billion a year on bottled water and any initiative to bring such wastage down was welcome.

“London water is the best in the world; it is the champagne of water,” he declared.

A recent survey revealed that only 11 per cent of green spaces in the UK provide working drinking fountains.

Michael J. Kowalski, the CEO of Tiffany & Co., said: “In supporting the beautification efforts of the Royal Parks Foundation we help to maintain London’s tradition of parks that provide a respite and recreation to its citizens, and it is our pleasure to do so.”

Article from the Times Online June 14, 2010 by Fiona Hamilton, London correspondent