A LIGHTING expert will now be invited to present ideas on lighting the King George V Park (KGV), as the town council goes back to square one, scrapping over two years’ worth of work on the project.
At the asset management and amenities meeting on Monday 7th August, councillors considered a report prepared by the town council’s head of operations on the lighting project, where £68,000 had previously been allocated to order and install swan neck lighting columns in the park.
The report now reveals the cost has increased to £71,000 and says this is due to the fact the ‘item has been moved back and forth for a number of years; there have been differences of opinions and costs have escalated during this time.’
Wrong specifications
However, Melksham News has had it confirmed from a source in Melksham Town Council that the wrong specification of lights had been given to the lighting company and when the correct specification was given, the cost had increased.
Since 2020, the town council have been discussing the project to install lights in the park to ensure residents felt safe when in the area in the dark.
Now, councillors have scrapped over two years’ worth of work by resolving to ask a lighting expert in the town, such as Paul Weymouth of Light Fantastic, who manage lighting at events locally, to come forward with their ideas to light the space.
£4,299 plan scrapped
A report the council commissioned into the lighting plan in the park from BJP Consulting Group, which they have now scrapped, cost £4,299.
The discussion at the 7th August council meeting follows on from a meeting in June, where Paul Weymouth urged the town council not to spend £68,000 on installing lights and proposed instead to install festoon lighting, a string of ‘party-style’ lights, which he said this would be a third of the cost, protect wildlife due to the dimness of the lights and require less groundwork and maintenance.
Cllr Jon Hubbard said, “Say to Paul, get it sorted. He’s made it very clear we shouldn’t be spending the levels of money we have said we will on it. I believe if he’s saying that he’s going to base that on fact. Let’s get him in, let’s talk to him.”
During the meeting, there were also discussions on types of lighting, route of lighting, public consultation and reasons for wanting lighting.
Cllr Tom Price also reiterated the importance of having lights installed to support those using The Cricketers Café if it opens in the evening. He said, “More recently, it’s important now we have the café running and they plan to do more evening stuff, I think it’s imperative we have lighting to make sure their business survives.”
Shocked
Speaking to Melksham News after the meeting, cllr Colin Goodhind, deputy chair of the asset management and amenities committee, said, “I was shocked to see that the lighting in the KGV has become such a mess. I voted against upping the budget at the assets meeting previously and argued for a local, trusted expert to look at the lighting project.
“We now have that, which I celebrate, however at the cost of two years of work. I would now look for there to be an investigation into how we have got to the stage where the lights the council wanted to order were unsuitable for the job, and only finding this out two years into the project after councillors had voted to order them.”
The town council will now invite local lighting expert Paul Weymouth, or another expert if he’s not available, to bring forward suggestions for lighting in the KGV Park, starting the project again.
