Fountain pledge
Sovereign Harbour. Canal water feature problem for residents. September 11th 2012 E37050N
FED-UP Sovereign Harbour residents have won a partial victory in their fight to have something done about an eyesore fountain.
Last week’s Herald reported how more than 300 home owners had been told they would have to cough up for repair work needed to bring the UK’s largest water feature back into use.
The giant canal-like fountain is almost running completely dry, has started to attract anti-social behaviour and what little water is in it has turned a stagnant green colour.
And the last straw for residents came when they were contacted by developers Persimmon and asked to sign a new deed of covenant for their homes, which would make the 369 people responsible for the water feature.
The alternative, they were told, was that each home stumps up around £600 in back-paid maintenance costs.
However, Persimmon’s managing director Andrew Golawski told the Herald, “The agreements under which properties were sold provided for the ongoing maintenance of the feature, which was to be paid for by the property owners upon implementation.
“Aria [the firm which carried out the initial development before being taken over by Persimmon] has to date borne all costs associated with the water feature since its implementation. Aria has offered to waive all recoverable past service charges upon completion of one common form of deed, which will ensure that the management is as easy as possible in future years.
“We apologise that the process has taken longer than anybody would have preferred. However we will oversee the programmed maintenance ahead of the water feature being passed to resident’s control.”
Eastbourne Borough Council has also said it will fund a survey into the structure before it is handed over.
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