Daventry man wants Burton Memorial's tap turned back on to reduce reliance on plastic water bottles

Jim Davis, of Lang Farm, wants Daventry town centre's Burton Memorial to once again be a working drinking fountain so that people can have access to free water.

He believes it would encourage people to refill their plastic bottles and drink from the fountain, which would in turn help reduce reliance on plastic and cut down on emissions involved in creating the bottles.

Mr Davis said: "Towns and cities across the country are installing or reinstalling water fountains as part of a drive to cut down the use of plastic bottles.

"Since the decline in the use of water fountains people are increasingly buying single-use plastic bottles of water or other refreshments."

He added: "Drinking fountains encourage us to remain healthy and stay hydrated, they cut down on primary resources to reduce plastics and also emissions involved in creating plastic bottles, and by avoiding the use of disposable plastic packaging we avoid litter, which gets into our streams and oceans."

Mr Davis cited Bristol as an example for Daventry to take inspiration from.

Bristol is a refillable city meaning hundreds of bars and cafés allow people to fill up their water bottles for free.

The city has also installed and received sponsorship for a water fountain in the city centre, and Mr Davis would like to see a similar initiative for Daventry's Burton Memorial.

"The Burton Memorial in Daventry town centre was once a working water fountain so if we could 'Turn on the Tap' it could be fixed for the people of Daventry to access free water in the centre of town," said Mr Davis.

"Getting local businesses to sponsor the fountain for a period of time would help reduce costs.

"Local businesses in Daventry could also be encouraged to take part in a refill scheme around the town. I would also like to see water fountains planned as part of the new retail developments in Daventry."