Buckingham Town Council announced a big step for a greener Buckingham with the unveiling of a new drinking water fountain for refilling bottles in Chandos Park. The new equipment is an initiative by the Town Council to both help reduce the plastic waste produced by the town and provide a new service for its residents. The Town Council received £2,995 from Buckinghamshire County Council’s Local Area Forum towards the cost of the purchase and installation.
Visitors to the park can now fill up their drinks bottles after working up a sweat – or when simply enjoying a stroll on a hot day – with fresh water, rather than having to leave the park to purchase new drinks, saving themselves money and reducing the environmental impact of single use plastics. The fountain, located opposite the tennis courts, is the first water refill station to be installed in Buckingham.
It was officially opened to the public on Thursday 16th July by Town Mayor, Cllr. Geraldine Collins and Buckinghamshire Councillor Warren Whyte, who chaired the Local Area Forum when the funding was awarded.
Cllr. Ruth Newell, Chair of the Environment Committee said: “It is great to finally have the water bottle filling station installed after originally deciding we wanted one a couple of years ago and we are grateful to the local area forum for their generous grant to fund it. It will be excellent to be able to use tap water and to reduce on the plastic waste from single use water bottles, so I welcome the positive impact on our environment and with our climate emergency action plan’.
The press release said that the new station has been approved by the Water Regulations Advisory scheme and that an E-coat immersed steel body will make the station weatherproof and vandal-proof, and ensure a lifespan for years to come.
