RENOVATION and refurbishment of a 19th-century fountain is set to take place after concerns about its state of disrepair.

The Victoria Fountain, built in 1846 in Old Steine Gardens in Brighton, has been switched off for safety reasons after "significant and complex structural problems" were discovered, with expensive specialist work required.

Some £250,000 in capital investment is set to be allocated in this year's council budget to its refurbishment and repair.

Conservative councillor Carol Theobald said: "The spectacular fountain used to be a centre-point and symbol of Brighton and a reflection of a town that took pride in its appearance and warmly welcomed visitors.

"However, the fountain has been switched off for well over a year and has graffiti on it, and the gardens have been allowed to become overgrown with weeds and litter."

She called for the fountain to be restored in time for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer.

Labour councillor Amanda Evans, however, said that she thinks such a timeframe for repair is unlikely and called for clarity over the state of both the fountain and the gardens.

She said: "Residents need reassuring with engineering facts about what is going on with both the Gardens and the fountain.

"It would be lovely to have it repaired in time for the Jubilee, but I don't think that's likely to happen, sadly."

She said that the structure may have to be dismantled for inspection and rebuilt due to the nature of its electrical and structural problems, and expressed concern over plans to have heavy machinery at the gardens during the work on the third phase of the Valley Gardens project.

However, council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty said that having machinery and equipment at the gardens is nothing new and said that "the underlying cause of a sinkhole will have been happening for some time".

He said: "Southern Water have already confirmed that the sinkhole in the Old Steine Gardens isn't caused by leaking pipes, and ground penetration radar works are already underway as part of civil engineering works for Victoria Gardens."

Cllr Mac Cafferty has also slammed the Conservatives for complaining about not preparing the city for this year's Jubilee celebrations, "while their government ministers hosted parties in Downing Street the night before the funeral of Prince Phillip".

He said: "We're regenerating parts of the city and we've secured funding to do so.

"I will not accept accusations that we do not care for our heritage, while it is the Conservative Party's own ministers who have cut funding for English Heritage by 30 per cent in the last decade.

"While we fight tooth and nail to protect public services and invest in our city, including local heritage, arts and culture, the Tories come empty-handed and pretend their government's policy don't have an impact.

"Perhaps instead of running down the reputation of our city, the Tories could stand up for Brighton and Hove for a change by lobbying their own party to reverse the cuts and restore the funding our communities rightly deserve."

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