With so many aquariums featuring in regeneration plans Building's editor (owner of two goldfish) believes it may be time to pull the plug

I know we are meant to be a nation of animal lovers, but dogs and cats seem to have nothing on fish. What else is there to explain the rise and rise of aquarium in the UK?

Yes, fish do have their upsides – it can be soothing to watch them on a computer screen or swim round a bowl – though Hamish and Nemo haven’t quite done that for me yet. And when it's tipping it down in Britainny in August for the fourth day in a row and you've got three children under 12 to amuse, the aquarium in Brest is a Godsend.

But how many more aquariums do we need in the UK? If you have got a city that needs a lift, or a run down area in dire need of regenerating, building an aquarium seems to be the mantra. Perhaps we have finally reached saturation point, pardon the pun, since a plan to build one of the largest freshwater aquariums in the world in Bedford looks as if it won’t go ahead.

In the meantime fish lovers can enjoy the cover of our Top 150 contractors and housebuilders supplement, which features, yes a couple of goldfish.

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