Princess Diana fountain is sinking and must be entirely rebuilt, claims engineer

Last updated at 21:59 03 January 2008

The Princess Diana memorial fountain is "sinking" because it was constructed in a rush to meet the opening day deadline, an engineering expert has claimed.

Bob Munroe, who was called in to oversee repairs, said the only solution was to rebuild it from scratch.

Mr Munroe said: "It's a disaster. Hundreds of litres of water are leaking away every day and as a result it's causing subsidence and making the paths rise and buckle.

Troubled waters: The Princess Diana fountain in Hyde Park has been plagued by problems but still attracts 800,000 visitors a year

"The only way to fix the problem is to pull it all down and start again.

"They don't want people to find out how badly it is leaking, so they keep paying for temporary measures.

"I was told when it was built the contractors didn't have time to do it properly."

Mr Munroe spoke about the problems after his firm, Cirencester Civil Engineering, was called in last month to improve the drainage system to stem the leaking water.

He has since left the company. The 690ft fountain, a circular trench filled with flowing water overlooking the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park, has been beset by problems since it was opened by the Queen in July 2004, seven years after Princess Diana's death.

It was closed after just one day when leaves blocked the pumps, and six months later it was closed again for redesign work after visitors slipped and injured themselves.

Last year, a report by MPs revealed that the cost of the "illconceived and ill-executed" project had soared from £3million to £5.2million.

Last night the Royal Parks Agency, which maintains the fountain-denied that the structure needed rebuilding.

A spokesman said: "The fountain is not an engineering disaster. It is not sinking, subsiding or leaking hundreds of litres of water a day.

"With any construction in an open landscape there is a small amount of settling. This resulted in some minor leakage in a small area.

"Consequently, as part of the fountain's annual maintenance, we replaced an area of grouting and improved the existing drainage."

Mike Sugg, managing director of Cirencester Civil Engineering, said: "Mr Munroe resigned over the Christmas period. His views are not representative of the company.

"We were called in because water was gathering next to the fountain and it was becoming boggy.

"We installed extra drainage and prepared the ground to be returfed. It was just routine maintenance."