Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Seeing bridge in a whole new light with trust plan
PLANS have been put forward for “cutting-edge, visually stunning, environmentally friendly and sustainable” lights on Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The proposal would see the current lights replaced with dimmable, colour-changing LEDs.
An application put to Bristol City Council by the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust involves lights at four levels – described as under bridge, low, middle and high.
It is suggested that the installation takes place in 2023, when the bridge is due to have its chains, hangers and parapets repainted.
Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Clifton Suspension Bridge was due to be built in 1831 but the Bristol riots over rotten boroughs halted the work on what Brunel called “my first child, my darling”.
It was eventually built to plans revised by Henry Barlow and John Hawkshaw in 1864, following Brunel’s death.
To celebrate its opening on December 8, electricity was used to light the bridge alongside lime lights placed at the base of each tower and magnesium lights spaced out along the carriageway.
Until the mid-20th century it was lit up for special occasions, as in 1953 when it marked the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The bridge was Grade I listed in 1959, recognising its exceptional national, architectural or historical importance. It is 412 metres long with a main span of 214m and 9.4m wide, with towers rising 26m above the deck and 101m above the River Avon.
In 1991 the Guide Lite system was installed. It promised a 20-year lifespan but the system suffered from weathering and was replaced with LEDs in 2005.
These will be removed by the proposed works as they are now beginning to fail and maintenance costs are rising.
As well as reducing costs, the new lights are expected to enhance the bridge’s looks.
“From an aesthetic perspective, the lit impression given by the existing lighting scheme is also considered to be limited,” the proposal reads.
“Certain elements and views of the bridge are not well defined at night, such as views onto the bridge from either end.”
It adds: “Overall, the existing installations currently create a ‘partial lit’ impression of the bridge at night with key elements, such as the hangers and the crowns of the two towers, incidentally lit rather than purposefully lit, as had been the case in previous designs.”
The proposed illuminations were designed and mocked up in 2020 to help the trust “understand what was achievable on such an iconic structure, not just for Bristol but for the whole of the South West”.
The result is promised in the planning application to be “functional, beautiful and wholly situated in its local context”.
An advanced lighting control system will allow the bridge operators to dim the lights, change their colour and set flashing patterns, as well as timing when they turn on and off, in accordance with light pollution curfews.
The proposals suggest that these features could be used to help mark major events such as Pride or the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.
A bat survey recorded 54,000 bat calls in October 2021, suggesting that many individuals of several different species were living and hunting around the structure.
But more than 99 per cent of these calls were from light-tolerant species, leading researchers to conclude that “there will be no significant impact on bats” created by the proposed lighting upgrade.
Meanwhile, a heritage impact assessment noted that the “existing lighting installation includes some dated and probably oversized luminaires and cabling which appears obtrusive in places”, adding that the proposals “offer an opportunity to de-clutter the bridge structure and better reveal the significance of Brunel’s bridge through improved lighting methods”.