The trial was due to go ahead last year, but the Town Council said in December that the habourmaster had warned the lights “could cause confusion to shipping” since some of the lights were the same colour as warning navigation buoys.
However, it emerged in January that harbourmaster John Stone had not objected to the trial, but had only said the safety of the lights would need be assessed.
Councillors at Wednesday’s Town Improvements Committee meeting voted in favour of installing three coloured LED lights on the South Esplanade at a cost of £420 on a trial basis.
Town Clerk Eileen Shaw said: “Once the new lights are in place, a number of tests will be undertaken to establish whether they generate sufficient light on the pavements and highway.”
Mayor Ken Smout added: “This scheme has been stalled for several months so now we have got the go-ahead from the harbourmaster, let’s get this moving.”
The lights are being trialled after Burnham-On-Sea.com reported here that resident Nick Whetstone had proposed the town’s current aging decorative seafront illuminations be replaced by the multi-coloured low-cost LED lights.
If the trial is successful, all the seafront lamps could be replaced with the coloured LED units, as pictured above. It is claimed these could cut the council’s power bill by up to 85%.
Pictured: Top, how the proposed new lights would look on the seafront
