It was already meant to have taken pride of place as Wolverhampton’s newest showpiece development.

But this picture shows how work to create the city’s landmark new fountain in Queen Square hasn’t really even got off the ground. And the scheme has been branded a “catastrophe” today as frustration grows over lengthy delays with the project now due to be completed next spring.

The bright green hoardings which have blocked the site from view for months have been ripped down to reveal a totally bare site which is now being covered in Tarmac ready for the Christmas celebrations.

Despite being no closer to completion, council chiefs are keen for the site to take centre stage for the city’s Christmas festivities. And it is hoped a vintage carousel will be carried into the city centre square for the festivities before the new road surfacing is ripped up for the £300,000 fountain development to be restarted.

Workers were creating an underground water tank for the showpiece fountain before rollers moved in to cover over the site. The entire site will not be finished until April – eight months longer than originally planned – but the authority says the £300,000 cost will remain the same.

Labour opposition councillor Phil Page said: “I think the delays are absolutely astounding; it’s like one catastrophe after the next. I can’t believe the costs are not going up. I can’t understand why the delays have been going on for so long; things seem to be going wrong an awful lot. I just can’t believe how it can take eight months longer than they planned.”

Council chiefs have apologised for the delays numerous times, blaming them on the intricate network of underground cables that have been there for more than a century.

Councillor Malcolm Gwinnett, chairman of the planning committee, said: “Although the fountain project is not finished, we thought it was important to have some Christmas activities at the site, and so it is being covered over for the festive period.

“It is not costing the council anything for that, and we are hoping to have a vintage carousel at the site.”

Work is to start again next month. Once completed, the new feature will be made up of two water plazas on different levels with flashing LED lights and a walkway between them. It is part of the council’s wider regeneration plans to create a cafe culture in the city centre.