AFTER being shut down and then fenced off for a total of almost two years, the Clacton town centre water fountain debacle finally appears to be over.

The £137,000 fountain – the centrepiece to a £3.2million town centre revamp – has been plagued with problems since it was First switched on in August 2007.

Tendring Council turned it off in July 2008 after environment officers raised health and safety fears for children playing in the fountain due to the quality of the water.

They were concerned the water treatment system was inadequate for the sheer number of youngsters using it, as well as exposing them to dirty water that had been in contact with pigeons, seagulls and dogs.

The fountain was later switched back on after it was fenced in.

Now the fences have been removed, but the jets will turn off when hi-tech sensors detect movement.

Such fiascos can be embarrassing to local government.

Clacton MP Douglas Carswell criticised town hall bosses for getting caught up in health and safety red tape.

He said: “The saga of the fountain sums up what’s gone wrong with so much of local government in this country.

“Vast sums of money are spent on red tape that prevents common sense.

“I think the fact the fountain is working properly will be welcomed, and people will be thinking it’s about time, too.

“If there had been a little more common sense from the outset, it would have been working years ago and it would have prevented a costly and farcical saga.”

A cabinet member in the adminstration when the fountain was installed says the debacle was a case of health and safety gone mad.

Tendring First councillor Pierre Oxley said the idea of the fountain was that people could run through it.

He added: “The whole idea of the concept was to make the town centre a place of fun and enjoyment.

“That’s why there was never a fence around it in the first place.

“I thought at the time it was just health and safety gone mad to put the fence up.

“You can go up and down the country and see no fences around fountains like this.

“My view was that we should have just put a sign up saying people who go into the water do so at their own risk.”

Carlo Guglielmi, councillor responsible for technical services, said he was pleased the fencing had been taken down in time for the main summer season.

The Tory said the sensor was a cheaper solution to the problem. The more expensive alternative was to install more water treatment equipment.

The innovative new sensor can detect movement and lower the height of the jets, if someone approaches it.

Mr Guglielmi said: “We inherited the problem from the previous administration.

“We haven’t been able to get to the bottom of whether the brief was for it to be interactive or not.

“There are other fountains up and down the country like this and I would love to know whether they comply with the regulations that were pointed out to us.

“Our administartion would never have opted for a fountain quite like this to start with, but we are extremely pleased we have come to a resolution.”