Fountains of pain...how Blackpool's broken water feature saga shows no sign of ending

The Gazette told in July how the attraction in St John’s Sqaure had not been fully working since November 2016.

They were taken away by engineers - during one of the hottest summers on record - to try to work out what the problem was. But it appears council officials are no nearer to getting them working again.

When asked for an update this week, a spokeswoman for Blackpool Council said: “An external company was commissioned to investigate the faults, we are currently reviewing their findings.”

The fountains were installed as part of a £3.5m project by the then-Conservative run Blackpool Council a decade ago.

Today, Tony Williams, leader of the Conservatives on Blackpool Council, said: “The whole idea of the re-design of St john’s square was to provide a relaxing atmosphere of tree lined, café culture, leisure space and the water feature was a main part of the whole area. Not only do the fountains provide a moving, changing feature that young children love, they also deliver a cool break from the warm summer weather

“The fact that the fountains have not been working properly since 2016 is an absolute disgrace. The council just don’t seem to have a clue to the problems and they removed them completely in August this year.

“I have asked the questions as to when they will be restored but so far have received no definitive answers. The Square is the hub of our town centre and this council are just neglecting it and letting it go to ruin.”

The fountains were unveiled to huge fanfare when bosses at the town hall said they wanted to make Blackpool the ‘third best shopping centre in the north west’.