Illustration by John Sadler www.johnsadlerillustration.com 

• IT’S rather ominous that Camden Council felt the Princes Circus drinking fountain in Covent Garden was worthy of saving on heritage grounds but without serving its original purpose because they can’t afford to connect it to the water mains.

It makes one wonder what other municipal services once provided will from now on only be maintained in a symbolic non-functional form.

Housing repairs spring to mind. After all these are pretty elusive as it is, but as funds dry up they could be pared down to an app on your phone whose icon would be a representation of the old housing department.

This could automatically generate standard responses to tenants’ requests for help, promising that faults/deteriorations will be addressed. It could send out baffling and intrusive forms to be completed by tenants.

Actually the whole role of the local authority could be thus reduced in terms of cost while maintaining an illusion of care and service.

Indeed, some of our citizens are under the impression that such a “reform” has already taken place as they wait to hear back from the Town Hall.

FR McKENZIE, WC1