Local residents spoke of their dismay at Southport’s historic water features running dry.
One local resident contacted the ECHO in frustration that so many fountains in the town centre did not appear to be operational.
Cllr Mike Prendergast, who is a Southport councillor and the local Conservative leader said he had also been contacted by residents and local volunteer groups about the state of the fountains.
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Cllr Prendergast said he had “lots of constituents raise this issue with me, especially regarding the mermaid fountain outside Sainsbury’s on Lord Street.” He added: “There are a number of volunteer groups who do great work in keeping the town centre looking tidy and they have been in touch also.”
Cllr Prendergast said he had raised the issue with council officers “to see if we can get them up and running again”.
He added: “I want these features working ASAP as they make Southport town centre look and feel so much better when they do work and if we are going to be investing millions in the new Convention Centre to attract visitors then we can’t really have the rest of the Town Centre not looking its best.”
Sefton Council was contacted for comment and a spokesperson said it was aware of issues with a number of the fountains in the town.
The spokesperson said: “Lord Street is home to a number of historical fountains, some of which are significantly old.
“Owing to the age of the fountains it is not uncommon for them to show signs of wear and Sefton Council has carried out numerous maintenance programmes to ensure their longevity over a number of years.”
The spokesperson said the council had recently undertaken a “detailed condition report” which confirmed ” a range of future works will be necessary.”
However, due to the nature of the works required and the “complex ways in which these fountains operate” the council will need to contract specialists to carry out the work adding that further details about time scales will be made available in due course.
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