Campaigners are hoping to save Liverpool's much-loved 'bucket fountain' by restoring it to its former glory.
Merseyside Civic Society and The Friends of the Piazza Fountain have joined together to launch a crowdfunding appeal for £12,250 that would pay for an engineering report into the sculpture.
Designed by artist Richard Huws in the 1960s and constructed by workers at Birkenhead-based shipbuilders Cammell Laird, the art work has brought decades of delight to those passing by Beetham Plaza in the city centre.
However, its future has become unclear as developers Elliot Group, which owns the site, revealed plans to build a hotel there.
In August 2019, Piazza Fountain and its viewing platforms were awarded Grade-II listing by Historic England, which protects the work from destruction.
Gavin Davenport, chair of Merseyside Civic Society, said: "It is a much loved, iconic part of the fabric of the city that brings together art and culture, architecture and engineering.
"We’re at a critical moment to protect, restore and celebrate the fountain before it deteriorates further."
The crowdfunding would pay for:
- Assessment by an expert engineer of the fountain, buckets, seals, pump room, viewing platforms and receiving pool.
- Compilation of an engineering report, detailing the current state of the entire fountain and the remedial steps required to return it to its former glory.
- Identification of suitably experienced contractors to perform the remedial works.
- Preparation by a conservation engineer of full tender documents for further funding of repairs and restoration, along with prepared costings and contracts.
A spokesman for Elliot Group said: "We will engage with any sensible proposal and look forward to the relevant parties seeking permission to access private property."
Believed to be one of only two kinetic fountains still in existence in the UK, Piazza Fountain is made up of pivoted buckets suspended on rods from which they are filled with water. They tilt when they become full and then empty noisily into lower buckets and eventually empty in the pool in which they stand.
To support the crowdfunder, visit Just Giving.
