Petition pleads for network of free public drinking fountains for Brighton and Hove

A councillor has started a petition asking for a network of free public drinking fountains to be provided throughout Brighton and Hove.

Ben Duncan, who was elected as a Green councillor but sits as an independent on Brighton and Hove City Council, started the petition on the Change.org website.

Councillor Ben Duncan

Councillor Duncan, who represents Queen’s Park, included a reference to his own ward in the petition.

It reads: “We the undersigned ask Brighton and Hove City Council and Southern Water to provide free clean drinking water, through a network of public drinking fountains, at parks and open spaces, including in shopping areas and near beaches, throughout the city.

“Such provision will, of course, be costly, but the benefits to residents and visitors to the city will be immeasurable, in savings on purchases of bottled water or alternative drinks, reduction in waste bottles (the cost of disposal or recycling of which is currently borne by the council) – and in terms of public health.

“It would also lower the city’s impact on the environment in line with the council’s corporate aim of making Brighton and Hove a ‘One Planet City’, in keeping with the UN Urban Biosphere status it was granted earlier this year.

“Immediate steps could be taken towards the aim of providing a full network of water fountains, such as the requirement that all licensed premises provide free tap water to all, the provision of reusable water bottles to all the city’s schoolchildren, and the connection of those facilities already in existence, such as the historic water fountain in Queen’s Park.”

To see or sign the petition, click here.