New solar lights illuminating River Severn in Shrewsbury
New lights are illuminating the riverside after a being installed in Shrewsbury.
The 21 solar lights have been put in alongside the River Severn in Victoria Avenue in the Quarry, running from Kingsland Bridge to Greyfriar's Bridge.
The footpath and cycle way has previously been unlit and a cause for concern given the numbers using it and its proximity to the river.
Working with Zeta Specialist Lighting, Shrewsbury Town Council set a design brief to create a promenade atmosphere along the stretch with lighting that was respectful of the local area.
"There was also a need to provide a heritage look as well as providing the necessary wattage to ensure the lights would work both in the summer and the winter.
Stuart Farmer, projects manager for the town council, said: “Our councillors were clear that they wanted solar lights but wanted them to be in keeping with the heritage feel of the park, so finding a solution where we didn’t have a large solar dish on the top of the light was always going to be a hard task.
“We worked with the specialist lighting company, who we recently worked with to convert all of our lights to LED, and they came up with this perfect solution. Shrewsbury is the first place to have these type of lights in the world so it is good to see us leading the way.
“It has been a great job from everyone involved in the project, including R A Allmark & Sons Limited of Shrewsbury who have helped with the resurfacing of the areas around the new lights”.
Kirk Taylor, from Shrewsbury firm Potters Electrical Limited who has been working on the project, said: “I have looked after the town council’s footway lights for many years and it has been wonderful to work on such a fantastic project. The feedback from passers-by has been really encouraging. Not only is this a good safe scheme so near to the river, but the public are genuinely so excited about this energy efficient lighting scheme”.
Leader of the town council, Councillor Alan Mosley, added: “Safety near to the river is very important. We would like to explore this technology in other parts of the town.”
