Fountain 'not meant for paddling'

The designer of the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain today blamed the public for the safety problems which have led to the fountain closing for most of the summer.

The fountain was drained and closed down after three people - including a child - had to be taken to hospital when they slipped on the wet granite and hit their heads.

Now Kathryn Gustafson has said they should not have been walking in the fountain in the first place.

Her remarks are an extraordinary about- turn, because Gustafson herself was among those encouraging children to play in the fountain.

At the launch before the official opening she said: "Children will paddle and play, chase and race sticks in the fountain's shallow water."

However, Gustafson is now saying it was a mistake for people to take her at her word. In the first interview she has given since it opened she said: "It was a mistake when it was opened to think that people should be able to walk or play in it."

In the interview, with the Daily Telegraph's architecture correspondent Giles Worsley, who sat on the memorial committee and voted for the Gustafson design, she also said it was always planned to clean the fountain weekly - a fact which was never made clear before the opening last month.

Worsley - who also sought to shift the blame from Gustafson and the committee by writing that " the expectation raised in the press was that children would be able to play in the fountain" - d e s c r i b e d Gustafson as "surprised by the exuberance of people's reaction to the water".

She told him: "We need to go back to the basic concept which was that people should be able to touch the memorial. We talked through the issue about people walking in the water and we did health and safety checks. The stone was roughened because it was accessible, but it's meant to be a memorial. The intention was that the public would come and think about her [Diana], that there would be reverence for her.

"I'm a little s u r p r i s e d about the lack of reverence because it's a rather sober place. But when large numbers of people gather there is a loss of self-consciousness."

Her remarks echoed those of Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who said at the weekend the memorial had been spoilt by the "irresponsible behaviour" of those who dropped rubbish and let their children and dogs run in the water.

The fountain suffered its first setback when it closed 24 hours after opening because of a flood caused by leaves blocking a pump. Gustafson said today that she always knew there would be "teething problems".

Gustafson insisted she is happy with the ?3.6million project and said felt that the fountain's problems will be resolved.

"The fountain is a victim of its own success," she said. "We need to make some minor modifications to cope with the sheer number of people."

She points to the "many, many positive comments" from the public and "tons of emails and letters" she has received.

"I think it has created a memorial for the princess that works for many people."