Provost Tom Curley at the Robert Hamilton Fountain
Investment Flows Back Into Monklands Landmark
North Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Water are working more closely together than ever before and that’s coming straight from the ‘Lion’s’ mouth.
Scottish Water recently handed over a £500 cheque to the Friends of Centenary Park which enabled them to reconnect the famous fountain.
James McMillan, Scottish Water's Regional Communities Manager, has been engaging with community and business leaders in the Monklands area, building relations between Scottish Water, the local authority and local area partnerships.
James insists we are keen to lend a helping hand wherever possible:
“When Scottish Water was approached by the community we were only too happy to help. This fountain has lain dry for a number of years, however following the hard work and campaigning by the Friends of Centenary and Westend Park, local people now have a landmark they can be proud of."
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Alex Forrest is leading the charge to restore the parks and he was delighted with Scottish Water’s involvement in the project :
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Scottish Water for their contribution towards the restoration of the Robert Hamilton Fountain; this memorial is a very important part of the history of Airdrie and without help from our corporate sponsors this work could not have taken place.”
How best to clean up these four local waterways is a matter which Scottish Water has to carefully consider.
We will keep the community fully informed on our progress at every stage and consult community leaders closely before beginning any improvement work.
This is further testament to the close working relationship which we have developed with local councillors, MSPs, MPs and the local area partnerships over the last year.
The Robert Hamilton Fountain
The fountain in Westend Park was restored by Edinburgh firm Graciela Ainsworth Sculpture Co. after being discovered by Alex Forrest, in pieces, at Summerlee Heritage Park, where it was about to be disposed of.
The fountain was originally erected in 1887at the corner of Aitchison Street and Alexander Street in Airdrie, approximately 100 metres from its present site. The fountain was relocated to the park in 1922, when the site was used for the War Memorial. It was then removed from the park in the early 1970s.
Westend Park itself is a 100 years old and was laid out after a £1000 donation from prominent local figure Sir John Wilson.
The project to restore the fountain, from its discovery, to planning, fund raising and return to the park took exactly a year. The actual restoration by Graciela Ainsworth took 15 weeks.
