City wants to go with eco-flow for return of fountain
MOVE WOULD CUT DOWN USE OF PLASTIC BOTTLES
WATER could soon be flowing through an historic Newcastle city-centre fountain for the first time in decades, amid calls for council bosses to crack down on plastic bottles.
It has been revealed that the Rutherford Memorial Fountain in the Bigg Market could be brought back into use as part of the regeneration of the area, having been disused since 1998.
But while there is tentative talk of restoring Newcastle’s most prominent public fountain to its former glory, cash-strapped city council chiefs have rejected the prospect of doing the same with others across the city.
Save Newcastle Wildlife have launched a petition urging the local authority to bring its 10 historic water fountains back into use and install more, in a bid to dramatically cut the number of singleuse plastic water bottles thrown away by city residents.
A council spokesperson said: “We recognise the damaging effects of single-use plastics on the environment, which is why we have taken a number of measures in the civic centre and across the city to reduce its use.
“For more than a year now we have promoted refilling of reusable water bottles and encouraged schools to reduce the use of plastics.
“Like many cities, we have a history of water supplies through public fountains in the city centre and the Great North Road. Although the structures survive, the fountains are no longer operational, having been disconnected for a wide range of reasons over the years. It would be great to see these water fountains working again but our budgets do not allow for their refurbishment and constant maintenance which would be an essential part of bringing them back into use.
“With our partners, NE1, we are exploring the possibility of bringing back into use the most prominent fountain, the Rutherford Memorial Fountain, as part of the regeneration of the Bigg Market but this is only at the feasibility stage.
“We would urge people to use the Refill scheme as a much more cost-effective and reliable means of sourcing safe clean water when they are out and about. However, we are happy to receive this petition and give it our careful consideration.”
The Rutherford Memorial Fountain was originally located in St Nicholas’s Square but was moved in 1901 to accommodate a statue of Queen Victoria.
It was relocated again by around 100m during redevelopment of the Bigg Market in 1998, but the water supply was not reconnected in the “interest of public health and safety”.
The Save Newcastle Wildlife petition, which has almost 300 signatures, states that only a fraction of the million plastic bottles purchased around the world every minute are recycled.
It adds: “Plastic pollution is now believed to pose as serious a threat to the planet as climate change.
“Newcastle City Council recently pledged to reduce single-use plastics and take measures across the city to reduce their use.
“In London, the installation of new water fountains is already thought to have saved hundreds of thousands of single-use plastic water bottles.
“There are 10 historic water fountains in Newcastle, yet none of them are in public use.”