Winter Blunderland: Christmas lights too heavy for lammposts in Swanscombe
The Christmas lights in
Swanscombe last year
Christmas lights that adorned
Swanscombe High Street have been removed... because they are too
heavy for lampposts.
The lights were taken down after just
a week because of health and safety fears.
A survey by Kent County Council
has revealed the lampposts the lights were hanging from are
not safe.
A Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town
Council spokesman said: "Every year the town council is required to
apply for, and be granted, permission from Kent Highway Services to
install the Christmas lights on the columns in the High Street.
This was carried out in the normal manner and the lights were put
up.
"Unfortunately KCC are in the process
of carrying out a structural survey on all the lamp columns within
Kent and as part of this structural survey we were subsequently
notified that the 
columns we
had Christmas lights on were 'code red' and that we were
required to remove the Christmas lights as a matter of
urgency."
KCC informed the council that code red
means the street light column has a defect which cannot be repaired
and therefore cannot have any additional loading or weight added to
the column.
The spokesman added: "As frustrating
as it is, I trust you will understand that this has taken the
matter out of the control of the town council."
30/11/12
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