Burnham-On-Sea’s lighthouse may have to be painted orange as part of a crackdown on safety by EU bosses, it was disclosed this week.
A delegation of EU maritime safety officials visited the town in March as part of a month-long tour of coastal resorts in the South West to tighten up on safety.
They identified several potential hazards in our area, and in a surprise move demanded that councillors have the town’s lighthouse re-painted “because of its position so near to the estuary and its general lack of visibility which makes it a danger to small craft and shipping.”
The demands are likely to cause outcry among local residents and tourists, who love the historic lighthouse in its current form. The news comes just weeks after the lighthouse was repainted in its current distinctive red and white colours, as pictured above.
But EU safety officials are adamant that because the building no longer meets a new EU maritime safety directive, “it must be repainted a vibrant colour, such as orange, to urgently rectify the hazard as a matter of urgency.”
“Your lighthouse is not the only one identified in our study – there are others around the UK which will need to addressesed,” said EU Maritime Safety Officer Lalrip Foo. “But its position on the beach so close to the estuary makes it a priority for safety improvement action.”
As part of the recommendations, the safety team also recommended that “urgent remedial work” be carried out to the paddling pool on Burnham beach and the position of the Berrow wreck, although further details were not given.
The spokesman added that the driver for change is a rise in safety-related accidents around the UK in 2005. The number of incidents jumped to 89 from 41 the year before.
No need for concern… this was our 2006 April Fool’s Day story!
Did we fool you, or were you among those who emailed Burnham-On-Sea.com to express their concern about the EU ‘plans’? Keen-eyed readers will have noticed the name of the imaginary EU Maritime Safety Officer was ‘Lalrip Foo’, an anagram of ‘April Fool’. See our 2005 April Fool’s Day story here.
He added: “It’s vital that we tighten up on safety or the consequences could be law suits, compensation claims and long-running legal spats which could take years to resolve.”
The proposals are set to be discussed further at the next meeting of Burnham’s town council.
One councillor, who was with the delegation team when they visited the lighthouse, said: “While I can understand the safety issues here, the proposal to repaint the lighthouse is just barmy. It’s been here for many years without any accidents. This really is a case of safety-gone-mad.”
“We tried to argue with the EU officials why the changes should not be made, but our point of view fell on deaf ears. I really fear that our lighthouse will now be repainted orange – they are determined to get the recommendations implemented.”
