Local LED Manufactory company Start Tek has saved Brighton’s loved Mazda Fountain, and after a year of work it will finally shine again.
Featured image: Simon Carey
The fountain, that stands in Victoria Park, was given to Brighton as a gift by Thomson-Houston Ltd in 1930, but in 2015 it was drained due to the cost of repairing it.
The fountain was a spectacular feature, and had lights weaving rainbow colours through jets of water that could reach up to 10.6 metres. Following it’s closure, there was a large petition circulated around residents of Brighton, signed by people who felt that it was an important part of the city. Two years later, in 2017, the council finally agreed to repair it as part of the cities new Valley Gardens Restoration Project.
1000% Less Energy
It has finally been restored by the company StarTek Lighting, who did the work for free. The new fountain will be even better than before, as new technology means that the colours it can produce are almost infinite. The updated technology also means that the fountain will use less energy than it did previously, making an energy saving of almost 1000 . When the fountain was previously working and lit in the late 1980s, the lighting power consumption was around 27,000W. The new LED lights will use just 340W.
Labour of Love
The technical director or the project Jake Sharpstone has said that the project has been a labour of love:
“It’s been a labour of love restoring this great fountain to its former glory, and a real pleasure to be able to gift light to this fountain and the people of Brighton & Hove.
“Over a year ago when I saw on social media that the fountain might be removed from this prime spot I thought something had to be done to try and save it. I realised that as an owner of an LED lighting manufacturing company we could help save it by restoring the lighting
People Power
The restoration has taken over a year to complete, and councillor has said that it is a great example of people power and social enterprise:
“This is a great example of people power and social enterprise. The fountain is loved by residents, has been saved by them and restored by a Brighton company. The fountain is even better than before, adding extra colour to our colourful city.”
