The poor condition of wind-damaged lights along Burnham-On-Sea seafront has come under the spotlight this week amid safety concerns.
Recent storms have damaged columns along the South Esplanade between the jetty and Sailing Club, as pictured here.
“They look terrible to visitors,” regular seafront walker Caroline Thomas said in an email to Burnham-On-Sea.com. “Some columns have lanterns blown off the top, several decorative lights are hanging from poles, there are dangling cables, and many lights are not working. The council needs to sort it out quickly.”
Responding to the concerns, Tom Dougall from Sedgemoor District Council told Burnham-On-Sea.com this week: “We have issued instructions to our maintenance contractor to repair lights-out along the South Esplanade. Unfortunately, the exposed location of the lanterns and the current pattern of lantern heads makes them prone to damage by the wind.”
“Some of the damaged lantern heads were either blown-off or removed for safety. These will be replaced by a more robust pattern Victorian-style lamp in the next financial year. We hope this type of unit will be less susceptible to wind damage.”
He adds: “Sedgemoor District Council has a lantern replacement programme and the remaining lanterns along the Esplanade are scheduled to be replaced in 2021/22.”
“If the different type of lantern head proves more resilient, we will replace all units with this type.”
“The decorative light fittings are the responsibility of the Town Council and we have informed them of the condition of the fittings.”
