10 years on are the fountains a hit or miss?

Ten years after Peterborough splashed the cash to transform the city centre, the Cathedral Square fountains continue to divide opinion.

The water feature was the centrepiece in the £12 million project to redevelop the square, and the jets were switched on for the first time on June 2 2010.

Along with the fountains, the scheme had also seen the square re-paved and the old, unpopular Norwich Union office block was demolished.

Initial technical problems with the fountains soon dried up, but the large price tag made the scheme unpopular with some residents.

However, John Peach, who was leader of Peterborough City Council when the scheme was planned and agreed, said the works had been positive for Peterborough, and transformed the city centre.

Mr Peach said: “We had to look at the bigger picture - we had to look at revamping the city centre, and removing the old Norwich Union building.

“The flower beds in Cathedral Square were very dated, and didn’t match the other buildings, like the church, the cathedral and the Guildhall.

“We were able to get a grant from the East of England Development Agency to revamp the whole area, which meant it did not cost council anything. The money did not come from tax-payers.

“We got £12 million, of which it cost about £6 million to buy the Norwich Union building, and another £4 million to demolish it, because it was full of asbestos.

“The water features were a small part of a large projectmost of the money went on the Norwich Union building.”

Mr Peach said that without the redevelopment, a number of large firms would not have invested in the city.

He said; “I don’t think we would have some of those restaurants we do now, things like Pizza Express and Nandos. The new centre was such a draw to a lot of firms. At the time there were cheap shoe shops there, now we have restaurants and bars. John Lewis have just made one of their biggest investments in Peterborough - I don’t think they would do that without the big public realm improvements we have made. Cathedral Square was the start of that.”

The redevelopment split opinion in Peterborough, and Toby Wood, from the Peterborough Civic Society, said while he welcomed the work to repave the square he was still not impressed by the fountains themselves.

He said: “I think that the repaving of Cathedral Square was a good idea – it has provided the city with the open space right in the centre which therefore gives good views and access to the rest of the city, particularly the cathedral and the Guildhall.

“However the word that comes to mind regarding the fountains themselves is ‘underwhelming’.

“Personally I think the city would have been far better with a series of above ground water features similar to those that are in Bristol’s millennium Square.

“These are above ground and much more easy to maintain and, since they have mirrors, reflect the light on the water in a very attractive way. Sadly our fountains showed a