A city’s historic water fountain will be switched on later this month, The Argus can reveal.

The Victoria Fountain, in the Old Steine, Brighton, fell into disrepair and was taken away for restoration in February.

It was first hoped that the 19-century water feature would be repaired and function by March, but this was put back to mid-September.

But now, Brighton and Hove City Council said it is confident the fountain will be operational by the end of the month.

Lead councillor for heritage Alan Robins said: “I’m really excited that the scaffolding at the Victoria Fountain is now down and our renovation project is so close to completion.

“When it’s all finished our magnificent fountain will be a heritage feature everyone in the city can be very proud of.

“Once the hoarding is taken away later this week, people will be able to see inside.”

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However there are concerns that adverse weather could cause further disruption in the final stages of the build. 

“There will be some sections of protective fencing left in place while we complete our work, so we can do this safely,” said Cllr Robins.

“The weather may mean this takes a bit longer than we had hoped, but we’re aiming to have it resolved by the end of the month.”