Blackpool Tower: Corroded lights replacement plan approved

The new lights are expected to improve Blackpool Tower's overall lighting display

Plans to replace ageing lights at the top of Blackpool Tower have been given the go ahead.

Listed building consent has been approved by Blackpool Council to remove bulbs on the crow's nest of the Grade I listed landmark and install LED lights.

Recent surveys of the Tower found thin steel plates used for lighting strips are badly corroded.

Seven strips have already been removed but the remainder now need to be taken off using specialist equipment.

Once the new lights are in place, they are expected to improve the overall lighting display on the Tower which is owned by Blackpool Council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

They would be replaced with new fittings, each holding an LED lighting unit.

Surveys have found the Tower's thin steel plates used for lighting strips are badly corroded

The current lights also obscure some of the decorative detail of the steelwork.

Blackpool Civic Trust and the Victorian Society were both consulted over the plan but no objections were received.

A council report said measures would be taken to protect the fabric of the Tower while the lights were upgraded.

It said work "would be carried out by using a reciprocating saw to carefully cut through the welded connection points and leave the supporting structure smooth and flush".

"Operatives experienced in the use of the specific tools involved, and in similar conditions" would be used, it said, "in order to minimise the risk of damage to adjacent surfaces".