Camborne fountain drained after repeated vandalism

Walk through Camborne town centre this week and the fountain is silent, its basin bone dry. It is not a repair job or a seasonal switch-off. It is what happens when a piece of public street furniture keeps getting used as something else entirely.

Why the water’s been switched off

Camborne Town Council says the Camborne town centre fountain has been temporarily drained following continued incidents of vandalism, tampering and misuse. The council has not gone into the detail of each incident, but a photograph taken at the fountain gives a sense of what “misuse” can mean in practice: the basin turned into a mountain of foam and spilling over the sides, rather than a working fountain.

The cost of keeping it running

The council says these incidents have resulted in the need for ongoing cleaning, maintenance and repairs, leading to significant ongoing costs, and that this level of expenditure is not sustainable in the long term. Draining the fountain removes the immediate temptation while a longer-term answer is worked out.

What happens next

The council says it is now exploring alternative solutions to enable the continuing operation of the fountain, while preventing ongoing instances of interference and vandalism, and has promised further updates when more information is available. For now, there is no timeline for when the water, or the foam, might make a return.