Computer technology blamed for faulty fountains in Peterborough city centre

A computer problem has been blamed for the on-off performance of Peterborough’s £12 million city centre fountains.

The fountains, which are the focal point of the heart of the city, should have been switched on permanently for the summer season from June 22.

But since then, a number of visitors and city centre traders have complained that the fountains in Cathedral Square seemed to be more off than on.

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson said: “The fountains were switched on for the season on 22 June.

“A fault in the computerised programming system for the fountains, which switches them on and off amongst other things, has meant that they have been intermittent from the date they were switched on.

“This will continue until the system can be repaired, which we hope will be soon.”

The spokesperson said there would not be an additional cost for repairing the fountains.

She said: “We pay a contractor to operate and maintain the fountains and the problem can be fixed within that contract, so there is no additional cost.”

This season’s switch on itself was delayed by what the council described as an ‘unforeseen issue’.

The first time Peterborough’s fountains were switched on was June 2, 2010 and even then there were some technical issues that were quickly resolved.

The fountains were briefly switched off two years later amid claims they were being misused by some members of the public.