SENIOR York councillors will decide next month on the future of the Parliament Street fountain - as it emerged that council officials don't know how much it cost to build in the first place.

The executive member for culture, leisure and tourism, Cllr Nigel Ayre, was due to make a decision on September 18 on controversial proposals to demolish the fountain, which has long been a meeting place for residents and shoppers.

But the matter will now go instead to the full executive the following week, on September 24, although the proposal is still set to be discussed at a councillors' scrutiny meeting on September 18.

The Press revealed last month that the fountain, which has been a city-centre focal point for more than two decades but hasn't worked since 2012, was set to be demolished, with Make It York, the city’s new destination management organisation, saying a more attractive open space could be created which could be used by festivals.

More than 540 people have since signed a petition calling for it to be saved from demolition, claiming it is an 'iconic' attraction and focal point for the city centre which should simply be repaired and brought back into use.

The council has estimated it could cost £18,650 to remove the structure and re-pave the area but it has now dismayed a resident with its response to her Freedom of Information request for the cost of constructing it in the early 1990s.

Mary Broadhead said she received a reply to her FoI request from assistant director of communities, culture and public realm, Charlie Croft, saying: “The council does not hold any information with regard to how much the fountain cost to build.”

She said she was 'outraged' that such an organisation did not have a record of such a major expenditure and asked how many other project costs from the 90s were also unknown.

She added that she believed the taxpayer should be saved money by the fountain being retained but turned into a massive floral display, possibly sponsored by a local business, to keep it as a focal point and meeting place.

Sally Burns, director of communities and neighbourhoods, said: “The city archives holds information about the city’s history including any records about projects and developments from the past considered to be historically significant.

"The archives are managed by Explore York and are open to residents to consult.”