Shopping centre pool takes shape for clock's return

A shopping centre pool is taking shape again, years after it was first knocked down.

Restoration work is under way to bring the eccentric Emett Clock back to its original position to the Victoria Centre's main foyer, in Nottingham.

It originally stood in a pond of water, into which people used to throw coins for charity, but the clock and its pool were moved to the upper floor in 2014.

Now four tonnes of concrete has been laid in preparation for the rebuilding of the pond, which shopping centre managers expect to be finished by Christmas.

This will then allow them to start reassembling the rest of the clock, which is expected to be finished in spring 2027.

Nigel Wheatley, the centre director, said: "We're going to faithfully follow what it was.

"We're going to make sure it's as good as... well, probably better... than the day it went in.

"This thing has to hold water seven days a week for the next 10 years and we have to make sure it'll work.

"And that's why it's steady progress."

The 23ft (7m) Aqua Horological Tintinnabulator, as it is officially named, opens up and moves every 15 minutes and was designed by the eccentric Englishman Rowland Emett.

The sculptor and cartoonist also created contraptions for the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Generations of people have dropped money into a pool of water at the bottom, which has raised more than £300,000 for charity over the years.

It is currently being restored ahead of its reappearance.

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