Designers knew fountain would be slippery

Designers of the troubled Diana Memorial in Kensington Gardens knew all along that the stone would be slippery when wet.

Answers from the Culture Department under Freedom of Information rules also show that the ill-fated fountain has cost an extra £600,000 on top of the original capital budget of £2 million. The cost of repair work this year alone has grown from £150,000 to more than £200,000.

The answers reveal that it was known before the memorial was opened by the Queen last July that it was not an option to have people walking in the water. Despite this visitors were encouraged to paddle and several ended up in hospital.

The Culture Department's answer states: "The design team realised soon after the appointment and well before the design went to the planners that having people travelling through the water was not an option."

The fountain was shut for a month after three people, including a child, slipped on wet stones and hit their heads shortly after it opened. Ridges were carved into the stone to make it less slippery, but within days of its re-opening a 45-yearold Spanish visitor was taken to hospital after slipping on muddy grass.

Following the closure of the memorial to prevent further injuries, a fence was erected and security guards employed to stop people entering the water. Plastic decking was laid in December to stop people slipping on wet grass.

At the launch of the concept for the fountain, designer Kathryn Gustafson said: "On sunny days children will paddle and play, chase and race sticks in the fountain's shallow water." Yet last August, after visitors had been injured, she stated: "It was a mistake to think that people should be able to walk or play in it." She criticised the public for not showing enough reverence for the site.

The Culture Department revealed that the fee agreed with design team Gustafson Porter was £587,000 - more than 25 per cent of the original cost estimate for the entire memorial. Professional fees for the project included £108 an hour for the project engineers and £95 an hour for Ms Gustafson.