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Douglas Council to spend £835,000 on new festoon lights

Tue, 05 Feb 2019

Festoon lighting along Douglas promenade, in place since the 1940’s, is being removed by the Council to make way for a new £830,000 LED system.

The investment is expected to save ratepayers around £157,000 a year in energy costs according to Council Leader David Christian.

He says the old lampposts, adorned with the three legs design, were coming ‘close to the end of their lives’, and it made sense to replace them whilst government is regenerating the promenade.

The replacement LED lights will only run along the seaward side of the road, and will be ‘double lit’ to illuminate the entire highway and walkway.

Each unit will also be able to change colour, and reflect a ‘display in the bay’ at chosen times.

It’s part of a greater push by the Douglas Council to introduce energy-saving lights across the borough.

Local authorities have responsibility for lighting in their respective territories.

Despite voting to support the installation, Councillor Raina Chatel laments the loss of the festoons, which have welcomed tourists since the mid-twentieth century.

As a hotelier on Douglas promenade, she says guests regularly commented on the ‘spectacle of the lights’ and she’ll be sad to see them go.

By Ewan Gawne - Local Democracy Reporter

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