April 28, 2005
Burnham’s £30,000 seafront illuminations plan put on hold
A grand project to light up Burnham’s seafront with over 80 attractive illuminations has been put on hold due to safety fears about some of the lamposts.
The lights – which were due to be switched on during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend – were due to look similar to those shown below.
However, Somerset County Council has stepped in at the 11th hour to put the project on hold because 16 of the 43 lamp posts did not meet the required standard to support the new lights.
The Council made the decision after drafting in a lamp post stress-testing vehicle (pictured above) to check the strength of many posts along the seafront.
Burnham and Highbridge Town Councillor Neville Jones said the news was a “bombshell”, adding that it was a “serious setback.”
He said: “Until this problem can be resolved – at this stage it may even mean replacing all 43 lighting columns and the question of which authority would have to meet the cost is not clear – no firm decision can be made on how we proceed.”
Burnham’s seafront lamposts have been in place since 1988 and erosion has recently been spotted around some of them. Although there is no immediate danger, the County Council wants to update them.
The illuminations have been produced by Blachere Illuminations – which is behind the world-famous Blackpool illuminations – and the project had been expected to proceed without any problems.
RELATED LINKS:
New seafront lights get switched on
Date announced for lights switch-on
Seafront lights get the go-ahead
Seafront lights plan put on hold
£30k plan for seafront lights unveiled
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