'˜Lasting legacy' to the Queen dismantled

A fountain said to be a '˜lasting legacy' to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee has been dismantled and turned into a flower bed after just four years.
The Queen's Jubilee Fountain has been dismantled and the base filled with flowers.The Queen's Jubilee Fountain has been dismantled and the base filled with flowers.
The Queen's Jubilee Fountain has been dismantled and the base filled with flowers.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee fountain, which was installed and opened in June 2012, has had its upper tiers removed following ‘constant vandalism’, according to Boston Borough Council.

The authority’s portfolio holder for grounds and open spaces, Coun Claire Rylott, said: “The cost of constantly repairing it did not make economic sense in these financially straitened times.

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“Because of the ongoing costs and not being able to use it properly, it was agreed unanimously at a Boston In Bloom meeting to use the base as a planter.”

The Jubilee Fountain when it was opened in 2012.The Jubilee Fountain when it was opened in 2012.
The Jubilee Fountain when it was opened in 2012.

The fountain was supposed to be a ‘lasting legacy’ to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and was set in a Victorian themed garden in the town’s Central Park.

Shortly after its original opening in June, 2012, it was damaged by two youngsters climbing on the upper tiers and had to be taken away to be repaired.

Then in November, 2012, it was damaged again, only hours after being reinstalled with a new steel structure and concrete reinforcements to make it ‘strengthened and toughened’.

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At the time, the fountain was said to have cost £800 to restore and was further estimated to cost another £200 to fix the new damage.

The Jubilee Fountain when it was opened in 2012.The Jubilee Fountain when it was opened in 2012.
The Jubilee Fountain when it was opened in 2012.

A council spokesman said it had cost another £960 to repair.

The idea was that of former councillors Yvonne Gunter and Mary Wright.

Ms Gunter told The Standard: “I wasn’t aware it had been damaged recently, it is sad it has been removed.

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“I just hope the plants stay in the fountain base, noting that plants have been removed from planters in the town recently.

“All the work by volunteers and the parks team are to be applauded.”

Planters set-up for the In-Bloom competition have also recently been damaged.