Split over Diana fountain

The government is funding the permanent memorial

The proposed memorial fountain to Diana, Princess of Wales, faces further delays after talks over a design ended in deadlock.

A committee on Monday evening was split over two plans for the £3m monument in London's Hyde Park.

The responsibility now lies with the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell to choose the design, nearly five years after Diana's death.

The final choice is between the "avant-garde" Bombay-born British artist Anish Kapoor or a "restrained" design by American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson.

Monday's meeting at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) lasted more than two hours but the committee of eight people, headed by the princess's friend Rosa Monckton, failed to agree.

Ms Monckton said: "The committee held a constructive meeting.

"It made recommendations to the DCMS ministers on an appropriate way forward."

A spokesman for the DCMS said Ms Jowell was now considering the committee's conclusion.

Frustrated

An unnamed source told London's Evening Standard newspaper: "It was a classic split between the avant garde and the rest.

"Rosa Monckton wanted something that she believed the princess herself would have liked.

"The ultra-modernists wanted to make a statement for British art."

Kapoor's design is said to be "possibly shocking" while Gustafson's is described as "restrained and elegant".

Fountain timeline

Diana died Aug 1997 Permanent memorial fountain announced Sept 1999 Design competition launched Sept 2001 Design shortlist chosen Dec 2001 Design reportedly chosen Jan 2002 Committee deadlock July 2002

The memorial fountain committee was set up in February 2001 to oversee the project, and reports to the Diana memorial committee chaired by Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The monument will be situated beside the Serpentine Bridge in Hyde Park.

The government has said it aims to have the fountain finished by the sixth anniversary of Diana's death in August next year.

There were 100 artists who originally submitted ideas.

Last month, a frustrated Ms Jowell was said to have been "greatly concerned" over delays in commissioning the fountain.

But members of the design committee blame Ms Jowell's department for not approving a decision they reportedly made in January, in favour of the Gustafson design.