The £4 million restoration of Brighton’s seafront lanterns is set to begin this autumn with a pilot scheme involving five of the heritage lamps.
Most of the seafront’s ornate cast iron lamps – 1980s replicas of the original 1893 lanterns – were removed over the last few years after surveys showed they were in dangerous condition.
In 2016, a lantern in Marine Parade, smashed to the ground, narrowly missing a car and landing partly on the pavement.
Brighton and Hove City Council has now given itself planning permission to replace the 83 lanterns, after finally getting the green light from Historic England following months of negotiation.
It will also attempt to restore the original lighting columns, which are now more than 100 years old, where possible.
The lighting element will be replaced with LED, but using a soft glow to mimic the original gas lights.
Alan Robins, the lead councillor for culture, said: “A project, which began in 2020, to restore the city’s iconic seafront lighting back to its former glory is entering an exciting new phase.
“The first five columns will be removed and sent away for repair and restoration this autumn. In all, we’ll be restoring more than 80 which have been damaged by decades of exposure to the harsh, salty weather conditions.
“We’ve been working with Historic England to ensure the columns, brackets and lanterns are restored in a way which preserves their historic look and feel.
“They’ve given us their approval for restoring the first five columns which includes using original designs, manufacturing techniques and, where possible, materials.
“We have a contractor on board now and are busy planning the restoration programme which is aimed to be completed next spring. They will remove the columns to be transported to specialist manufacturers before being handed back and placed back in their original positions.
“The project is being funded with a combination of money from the council’s carbon neutral fund, capital funding and money remaining from a project to install LED lights in the city’s streetlighting.
“In total, the project is expected to cost in the region of £4 million and expected to take 3-4 years to complete.”
In 2022, a costing exercise put the price of restoring the lights in this way at about £1.8 million but the cost of the whole scheme will now be £4 million
A report, written by planning officer Charlotte Bush, said: “They are distinctive features of the Brighton seafront and are important surviving elements of Victorian street furniture that are now distinctive emblems of the public realm uniquely identifiable to Brighton today.
“This application follows progressive deterioration in the condition of these lamp standards, to the point of them becoming dangerous.
“This is as a result of their exposed position and the harsh corrosive seafront environment and has been exacerbated by the consequences of past piecemeal repairs using incompatible metals at joints between the various components, which has accelerated corrosion.
“In the recent past some lanterns have been made safe by the addition of bracing elements that detract from the appearance of the structures.”
The planning application was first submitted in May 2022, but a decision was delayed after Historic England requested more information about the proposed restoration.
It has asked that a further method statement is submitted for approval after the first five lamps are restored.
The original application included a refurbishment programmed document prepared by Jacobs, which outlined the state of the lanterns.
It said: “The lantern and the interface between that and the bracket are of most concern, due to the use of dissimilar metal components which have set up a non-stop corrosion event s one metal eats the other due to moisture infiltration.”
After Historic England asked for more information, the council commissioned FM Conway Ltd to write a detailed method statement.
This said there is now a risk that the columns themselves might collapse.
The five columns selected for the pilot will all be photographed and logged before being removed section by section.
They will then be taken to a specialist cast iron company for inspection and refurbishment.
Once complete, they will be taken to a protective coating specialist where they will be de-chlorinated to remove salt contamination and then sprayed with aluminium or zinc then anti-corrosive paint designed for use in coastal areas.
Although the council now has permission to replace all the lanterns, the method statement says each one will be assessed to see if it can be repaired.
The new lanterns will be produced by CU Phosco, which made the existing lanterns in 1980 and still has the moulds.
Their fixings will be made of marine grade stainless steel, and the whole lantern will be painted with at least five coats of specialist paint.
And once back in place on the seafront, the lights will again be de-salinated and given a final topcoat.
Some lights along Valley Gardens have had their lamps replaced. It was needed after all the different Fun parks and Xmas fairs have used them for tying their fairy lights, banners and spare cables to. (They should be warmed that they would be banned / charged for this use.
The new lights are much smaller than the originals and look very much out of proportion with the Victorian posts. Please make sure the lights you replace these old lights with will be of the same dimensions as the originals
Thank you.
£4M. That’s nearly £50,000 per light. What the actual f
Conservation work usually keeps to a similar process to the original. This is usually a rarer skill and process, so ends up costing a lot more compared to say, putting up some moder lighting.
Money very well spent by a prudent council.
Mr Kyle MP did say he wants B&H to be compared to Nice and Barcelona….so this is the start. Never mind B&H being world capital of Weeds.
Don’t see you out there spraying vinegar, Delboy. Your hands aren’t working?
Last weekend (16.09.23) I visited Brighton seafront and saw most Victorian lanterns are gone and replace mental attached led lights seem spoil and lost characters. I read the news date 13th September 2023 and I so glad the funds agreed to repair and put it back in the place again. It’s very Important Victorian street lights along Brighton’s seafront characteristic and good attractive for tourist and visitors and photographing
These aren’t the 1893 lamp posts, rather the 1930s ones that replaced them!