A £20,000 bid to restore a historic Kinross fountain has been launched.
Townspeople felt the Crosswell fountain, which sits on the main thoroughfare, was looking run down after the area surrounding it was regenerated.
The controversial £1.5 million Kinross High Street “shared space” development, which was undertaken in 2015, included footpath widening and resurfacing, as well as new bus shelters, walls and railings; and the introduction of more seating and street tree planting.
However funding was not made available at the time to improve the fountain.
Iain Todd, former chairman of Kinross in Bloom, said a report had been commissioned by the group into the state of the category C listed structure.
He said: “The structure itself is fine but over a period of time the base surrounding it has all moved. They are advising us to have them lifted and reset.
“There’s also a stone at the top of the fountain where frost has got in and it’s moved. That would have to be reset in position.
“Apart from that a good brush down with a wire brush should do it. For its age it’s in quite good condition. It will probably cost around £20,000 to complete the whole thing.
He said initial fundraising had had some success: “Perth and Kinross Council has put some money aside for us, we have approached the community council and various councillors – and all have said more or less that it’s a good idea and once we have more information they will be happy to help us out.
“Some members of the public have already promised us money, and we’ve had cheques from two or three of the businesses in town. We also have a JustGiving page.”
However, Mr Todd said there were currently no plans to return the fountain to full working order.
He said: “We aren’t going as far as to turn the water back on – the water was shut off and the pipes closed off. Although the original pipes are probably still there it would be far too expensive to reinstate it.”
The fountain was the cause of some hilarity last time it was given a makeover, at Christmas time in 2016.
Locals said the spray of red flashing lights draped in a dome over the top of the structure left it looking like either a mushroom or a giant phallus.
