'Absolutely disgusting': 'Design defect' blamed for Harold Wood fountain repeatedly breaking

That is what First Port, the property management company for Kings Park estate, has said about a water feature which has repeatedly broken.

The fountains at Kings Park estate were last fixed in September last year, and at that time First Port said it is working to find a permanent solution to the issue.

Having once again broken this month, Gubbins Lane resident Alan Dawson said it looks “absolutely disgusting”.

The 76-year-old said: “It’s the worst they’ve ever looked."

One of the water features has been drained of all its water (Image: Alan Dawson)

A spokesperson for the property management company said it is sorry “issues have continued with the ponds" at Kings Park.

“We recently instructed a pond specialist to investigate this and found that due to design defects related to the clay base of the ponds and insufficient water supply, the ponds, unfortunately, do not retain water as they should.”

The second broken fountain at the Kings Park estate on St Clements Avenue, Harold Wood (Image: Alan Dawson)

First Port will now discuss the matter with the “original developer”, the spokesperson said, to find a permanent solution and arrange improvement works as soon as possible.

“In the meantime, our site team is continuing to monitor and maintain the ponds pending remediation.

“We will continue to keep residents updated.”