When I heard about the latest proposal to demolish the Parliament Street fountain, it sounded very familiar. It reminded me of an area planning sub-committee meeting I covered many years ago.

The owner of a listed building was applying for permission to demolish it on the grounds it was in such poor condition it would cost too much to repair.

The first question from the committee members was “How did it get into such a state?”

The owner didn’t have a good answer because he had deliberately neglected it over several years in the hope the planning authority would then allow him to knock it down and replace it with a modern building which would be much cheaper to maintain.

The committee refused his application – and replaced it with an order to put the building into proper repair. He was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Running down listed buildings before asking for permission to demolish them on the grounds they were in poor condition used to be a common technique by property owners and any clued-up committee or planning officer was ready with the repair order the moment the demolition application landed on their desk.

So as soon as I heard about the fountain, my first question was “How did it get into such a state?”

It must have had a water supply, and the council must have known for years that the water supply no longer worked, at the latest from when the Splasheries were demolished. So why hasn’t it done anything about it?

If they had any doubts about how loved the fountain is, the many signatures on the petition against its disappearance last time the council wanted to remove it should have left them in no doubt.

There are three possible ways it could have fallen into its current state. One is unintentional neglect, one is cost cutting so money can be spent elsewhere and the final one is that someone, somewhere in the council or Make It York, is following the example of the listed building owner at that planning sub-committee.

Before the council or Make It York takes any steps regarding its future, they should give a full answer to the question: “How did it get into such a state?”

The fountain’s current condition should not be the basis on which its future is decided, especially by the people responsible for its maintenance.

The council claims it would be too expensive to reinstall the water supply. Surely at least one councillor or council officer has noticed that from time to time it rains in York? How about draining Parliament Street into a water reservoir under the fountain which is then used by the fountain?

I trust Parliament Street already has a drainage system. If it doesn’t then it should have. All that would be needed is the addition of a little diversion pipe and a very big hole under the fountain lined with waterproof material to take the water and a second pipe taking any overflow out into the citywide system. Since the council is apparently prepared to dig up the area to remove the fountain, it can have no objections to the digging of the very big hole.

While the council is about it, how about doing a proper job and repaving the whole of Parliament Street and St Sampsons Square? And how about more seats, or encouraging more cafes to move into the street so that people can sit outside away from the traffic of other streets.

Any continental town or city would call Parliament Street a boulevard and make it the crowning glory of its city centre.

It is a disgrace that the street as a whole, let alone the fountain, has been allowed to deteriorate into the state it is now. It should be a place where people can gather, stroll and meet one another, a place where it is a pleasure to be.

Let Coney Street be the main shopping street. Parliament Street needs its fountain in working order as the centrepiece of a street that York can be proud of.