Burnham-On-Sea councillors consider £20,000 seafront lights scheme

Published: May 24, 2007
Burnham-On-Sea councillors consider £20,000 seafront lights scheme

Burnham-On-Sea town councillors are considering going ahead with a £20,000 project to replace the town's storm-damaged seafront lights.

The proposal was discussed at the latest meeting of Burnham's Town Improvements Committee on Thursday evening (May 24th) when a majority of councillors voted in favour of new decorative illuminations being introduced.

Burnham-On-Sea.com reported in January how dozens of the lights along the seafront had been damaged during powerful 75mph storms - as pictured here.

The proposal for 90 new lights will now go before next Wednesday's meeting of the town Policy and Finance Committee - and a final decision is then expected to be made at a meeting of the full town council in June. Councillors were keen to stress that no final decision has yet been made.

At Thursday night's meeting, Town Clerk Eileen Shaw outlined the proposal in detail from Gala Lights.

She said 90 brand new decorative lights could be supplied at a cost of £16,200. There would be also be a further £600 delivery charge, plus a cost of £3,200 for installation.

Gala is suggesting the cost could be spread over two years and that the new lights could be delivered in time for the main summer tourist season by the second week of July, providing an order is placed by June 5th.

The project would be partially funded from insurance money received after January's storms and sponsorship from local businesses, although several thousand pounds would still be required.

Burnham's Deputy Mayor, Cllr Neville Jones, said he would investigate whether additional funding could be secured from other local authorities.

Councillors were shown a sample of the metal structure of one of the proposed new lights, demonstrating how its strength is greater than the storm-damaged ones.

But the project did not win unanimous backing, with Cllr Mike Mansfield questioning the expense.

"£20,000 is a lot of money to spend, especially if there is a risk of strong winds damaging them again," he said. "Storms like those in January are not a one-off."

Improvements Committee Chairman Cllr Eric Gill conceded the project is not inexpensive, adding: "It is a lot and we will need to weigh up all the advantages and disadvantages here."

Mrs Shaw added that the ongoing cost of electricity and maintenance would also need to be budgeted for.

Councillors on the committee voted 6-1 in favour of new lights being introduced, with Cllr Mansfield voting against.

Burnham-On-Sea News