Scottish Parliament: People just keep on falling into the ornamental ponds in front of the Holyrood building

More than a decade after measures to tackle problem, accidents are still happening

The ponds in front of the Scottish Parliament are still proving a hazard more than a decade after measures were taken to try and stop people falling in.

Latest details of accidents in and around the parliament show two occasions when members of the public ended up in the shallow water features. One suffered a "painful knee and bruising to leg and face" after tripping and falling into one of the ponds. The entry for the second accident said: "Member of the public fell into pond – no injury."

The late Enric Miralles, the architect who designed the parliament, included the ponds to double as an ornamental feature and an anti-attack measure, describing them as "a pleasant background for the public, helping security as well".

Latest accident statistics show two people tripped and fell into the ponds in front of the parliament. Picture: Ian Georgeson

But a string of accidents with the ponds In the early years of the parliament led the authorities to consider filling them in. One visitor suffered broken ribs after falling into a pond while reading a text message on their phone and an MSP accidentally stepped back into a pond while taking a photograph. Temporary safety barriers were put up at one stage, after an elderly man got out of a taxi and walked into a pond.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recommended fencing, extensive signage to warn of the hazard and an extension of the seating area. It also suggested fountains to make the ponds more obvious and draining the water in winter. But another report, by architects Lee Boyd, said the RoSPA plans were "excessive".

An internal parliament report came up with a series of options including filling in the ponds, which it was said could save £75,000 a year in running costs. But in the end, new concrete benches were added to the existing ones around some of the pond edges in 2009 as part of a £1.5 million security programme which also included new concrete bollards around the parliament.

Lothian Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said public safety was important but he believed the ponds were an asset to the parliament. He said: “It is one of the features people look at and on a hot day you can see both children and dogs enjoying cooling off in the water. I think it’s a good thing to have. Obviously people should be careful but I would be very disappointed if the parliament did anything like draining them or filling them in. Most people are fairly sensible and hopefully it’s something that attracts people to the parliament rather than a negative.”

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “We take health and safety matters seriously. There are however no plans to change the layout of the ponds”.