A Kemp Town resident has called for action to get the lights on the Black Rock boardwalk working by this winter.
Robert Brown raised the issue with Brighton and Hove City Council, asking why the lights between Duke’s Mound and Black Rock have been off for the past four years.
At a meeting of the full council on Thursday (1 October), he asked whether the council had paid UK Power Networks (UKPN) before the lighting was operational.
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, said that the council had been working with UK Power Networks but had found it is difficult to connect the lights with a power source.
Councillor Muten said: “The council has continued to work with UKPN while also exploring an alternative connection.
“Mindful of responsible use of public funds, UKPN has provided a revised quotation and officers have continued to work through this outstanding matter associated with delivering this connection.
“Our priority is to resolve this remaining issue and get the lights operational as soon as possible.”
He said that it would not be responsible to commit to a completion date.
When Mr Brown asked whether the lights would be on before Christmas completion or after the new year, Councillor Muten said: “We are looking for an alternative source to make sure this works quickly.
“I will press officers to go at pace with this. I recognise as we go into the darker months, darker evenings, we do need to get on and do this.
“I will take this away and put some pressure on to get these third parties to connect this and switch the lights on and we’ll get this done as soon as we can.”
