I refer to your report regarding the proposals to return the Johnson Drinking Fountain to Ayscoughfee Gardens that are due to be put before the council’s planning committee.
Historic England have made it clear in their formal response to the planning application that the “authority considers carefully the justification for re-erecting the fountain within the grounds of Ayscoughfee Hall, as opposed to potentially re-erecting it in its original location”.
That is hardly a comprehensive endorsement of the council’s proposals.
I also wish to take issue with the comments about the heritage impact assessment and our concerns that there has been a lack of specialist advice.
Firstly, the council’s comments that the Heritage Impact Assessment was written by someone with qualifications does not change the fact that the first version of the Heritage Impact Assessment contained so many inaccuracies that it had to be withdrawn.
The historical aspects of the assessment was significantly rewritten, such that the final version had no less than 15 errors of historical facts being corrected, or modified after we had pointed them out.
Secondly, the advice that we would have expected the council to have taken was to explore whether the Johnson Drinking Fountain could be restored to working order.
They have not consulted with Anglian Water as to the feasibility of it being restored as a working fountain.
Neither have they consulted with other authorities that have restored drinking fountains to working order.
Neither have they explored what sources of external funding might be available.
These are just a couple of the many concerns about the decision making process that resulted in the planning application being submitted.
Some of these concerns are set out in our objection to the application.
Just because the drinking fountain has been in Ayscoughfee Gardens for as long as many can remember does not mean that it has to be returned there.
It only ended up in Ayscoughfee because it was removed from the town centre in what was by the standard of the day, a highly controversial manner.
The Johnson Drinking Fountain was possibly the first monument to a non-Royal woman erected in a public space in Lincolnshire. As such it is highly significant.
It was erected by the Spalding Water Works Company as appreciation for the private funding from Miss Mary Ann Johnson, that enabled water mains to be laid in many parts of the town. This brought fresh drinking water to many homes in the town for the first time.
The fact that your paper reports that a drinking water fountain has been erected in Holbeach, makes the council’s refusal to explore reinstating the Johnson Drinking Water Fountain to the town centre working order even more astounding.
The cost to do so would not be exorbitant.
A historic drinking fountain is currently being restored in Wimbledon – the detailed costing in support of the planning application for that work shows that the cost of connecting the water supply will be £2,225.
There have been justified calls to for some permanent memorials to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II and the late Coun Angela Newton.
If such memorials are built, whatever form they take, I can only hope that the local authority will show those a bit more respect than they have shown to that dedicated to Miss Johnson.
John R G Bland
Chairman
Spalding & District Civic Society
