Memorandum submitted by the National Audit
Office
DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN
INTRODUCTION
1. In March 2005, the then Chairman of the
Committee of Public Accounts expressed an interest in progress
on the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park
and the costs to public funds of the upkeep, repair and maintenance
of the memorial.
2. This paper describes the key events and
decisions leading to the opening of the fountain on 6 July 2004.
Following a series of problems, the fountain closed in January
2005 for a period of enhancement work and re-opened on 6 May 2005.
Against this background, the paper summarises the costs of the
construction, enhancement work and on-going maintenance of the
fountain.
THE FOUNTAIN
The oval fountain comprises 550 Cornish granite
sections and is set in a landscaped area about the size of a football
pitch, which slopes towards the Serpentine. Water is pumped from
storage tanks beside the Serpentine to the fountain and flows
around the granite stone structure in different directions and
at different speeds.
The main enhancement work, recently undertaken
at the memorial, included:
replacing the original turf worn away by the
high number of visitors with a higher quality product;
extending the existing pathway around the fountain
to reduce the effects of large numbers of people on the turf and
to improve access for visitors with impaired mobility;
an enhanced drainage system to prevent the area
becoming waterlogged in wet weather; and
an improved leaf chamber for filtering out leaves.
3. The Department for Culture Media and
Sport was the Senior Responsible Owner for the project up to its
completion and accountable for the fountain's success. The Department
has provided £3.5 million of funding towards the project
to date. The Royal Parks (an Executive Agency of the Department)
was designated Project Sponsor and Director, and Citex Project
Services the contracted project managers. The Royal Parks was
the Senior Responsible Owner for the subsequent remedial works.
The project had a number of other key stakeholders as shown in
Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Key Stakeholders
| Stakeholder |
Role and responsibility |
| Department for Culture, Media and Sport |
Senior Responsible Owner of the project up to completion
|
| The Royal Parks (Executive Agency of Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
| Project Sponsor and Director with the on-going responsibility for maintenance of memorial. Senior Responsible Owner for remedial works
|
| Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Committee
| Committee set up as adviser to Government on memorials to Diana, Princess of Wales
|
| Memorial Fountain Committee | Special committee set up to advise Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Committee on location and design of the fountain and to oversee the construction process. Having been unable to make a majority recommendation on the choice of the design team, the Committee did not meet again to oversee the construction of the fountain.
|
| Citex Project Services | Contracted Project Manager
|
| Gustafson Porter | Design Team
|
| Ove Arup | Engineers |
| Geoffrey Osborne Ltd | Main construction and enhancement works contractor
|
| Whitehorse Contractors | Turf and drainage contractor (enhancement works only)
|
| |
TIMETABLE OF
EVENTS
4. At the end of 1997, the Chancellor of the Exchequer
established a committee to advise the Government on memorials
to commemorate the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, following
her death earlier that year. The Committee recommended a number
of commemoration projects. In July 2000, the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport announced it would provide funds to construct
a memorial fountain in The Royal Parks. A further committee was
set up in December 2000 to advise on the location and design of
the fountain and to oversee its construction and in July 2002
Gustafson Porter was selected as the winning designer. The Queen
opened the fountain on time in July 2004. It closed at the beginning
of this year for enhancement work and re-opened—as planned—in
May.
5. Figure 2 below sets out in detail, the key events
and decisions that led to the opening of the fountain.
Figure 2: Key Events
| August 1997 | Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
|
| December 1997 | Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Committee established by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to advise Government on how best to commemorate the life of the Princess, based on proposals from members of the public. Membership of the committee is at Appendix 1. The Committee complements the work of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, an independent charity.
|
| November 1998 | The Memorial Committee announces its final recommendations for commemoration projects after a number of meetings:
— community nursing teams for sick children;
— awards for school children for service to their communities; and
— a commemorative £5 coin with sales from the coin going towards the costs of the memorials.
— a number of memorial projects in The Royal Parks including a walk through Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park; and a substantially new children's playground, close to Kensington Palace. A proposal to create a memorial garden with a fountain in Kensington Gardens is shelved following earlier consultation with local residents and other stakeholders.
|
| July 2000 | The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport announces in the Commons that the Department is providing funds to construct a memorial fountain within The Royal Parks. The Department and The Royal Parks meet to discuss implementation of the project. They agree there should be a competition to select a design team to work with The Royal Parks on developing the memorial, rather than to select a single design.
|
| February 2001 | An HM Treasury Press Release announces a special committee has been set up, and includes landscape designers, architects and art experts. The Fountain Committee, chaired by Rosa Monckton, a close friend of the Princess of Wales, is to advise the Memorial Committee on the location and design of a fountain and oversee its construction. The Memorial Committee considers a fountain an appropriate additional memorial to those projects already established.
|
| June 2001 | The Fountain Committee announces that the fountain will be located in Hyde Park, next to the Serpentine. The site has the approval of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Committee had considered a number of sites proposed by The Royal Parks.
|
| September 2001 | A competition to appoint a design team is launched which receives 58 expressions of interest.
|
| 12 December 2001 | The Fountain Committee invites 11 design teams to tender for the project.
|
| July 2002 | The Fountain Committee refers two final bidders to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport who announces Gustafson Porter as the winning team as the Committee is unable to reach consensus on a winner.
|
| 27 February 2003 | Final design for an oval granite fountain set in a landscaped area receives planning permission from Westminster City Council.
|
| 30 June 2003 | Work on the fountain site begins. Many contractors including mechanical and civil engineers, construction companies, landscapers and stonemasons work on the project.
|
| 6 July 2004 | The Queen officially opens the memorial fountain and in the following days, up to 5,000 people an hour visit the memorial.
|
| 22 July 2004 | After a number of incidents, including flooding and slippages in and around the fountain, The Royal Parks close the memorial. Due to the fountain's popularity, The Royal Parks decide to fence off the area and employ staff to supervise it and control numbers. Visitors are requested not to walk or run in the water.
|
| 20 August 2004 | The Royal Parks re-opens the fountain under this new regime.
|
| December 2004 | The Royal Parks announce the fountain will close on 10 January 2005 until May 2005 for a period of enhancement works. The necessary works included: replacement of turf worn away by the high number of visitors; extension of the existing pathway to facilitate visitor access and to reduce the pressure on the grass; an improved leaf chamber to filter out leaves and an enhanced drainage system to prevent the area becoming waterlogged in wet weather.
|
| 6 May 2005 | The Royal Parks re-open the fountain.
|
| |
COSTS OF
FOUNTAIN
6. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport set a
budget of £3 million for the project and to date has provided
funding of £3.5 million (excluding £212,800 towards
the costs of the Opening Ceremony). The Department and The Royal
Parks estimate the final costs for the project, including the
recent enhancements, will be some £5 million and running
costs will be at least £250,000 a year. Figure 3 summarises
these costs against the original budget.
Figure 3: Costs, to Date, of Diana, Princess of Wales,
Memorial Fountain
| Budget* | £3,000,000
|
| Costs | |
| Initial design and construction costs—Project management, procurement, inspection/enabling works, construction, professional fees, VAT. Estimate, could be reduced by up to £39,000, subject to agreement of contractor's final invoice and confirmation of VAT treatment.
| £4,247,700 |
| Opening Ceremony (July 2004) | £318,700
|
| Post-opening improvements (August 2004) —Costs of stone surface enhancements not included as yet to be agreed.
| £8,735 |
| Enhancement works (January to May 2005) |
£700,000 |
| Total | £5,275,135
|
| Actual running costs to December 2004 | £202,000
|
| Estimated annual running costs in future |
£250,000 |
| |
* Of the £3 million budget, the Memorial Fountain Committee
and The Royal Parks anticipated £1 million forming an endowment
for future repair and maintenance. However, the budget was allocated
specifically for the design and construction of the memorial and
ultimately the £1 million was re-allocated to the capital
budget.
|
