Minutes:
It was moved by Councillor I McAlpine and seconded by Councillor L Bones that:
St Mary’s lighthouse
St Mary’s lighthouse is one of the Borough’s most iconic landmarks, visible along much of the North East coast and from towns across North Tyneside and Northumberland. It brings tourism to the area and forms a hub for vital marine conservation activities.
The lighthouse has been a muse to many an artist and photographer and is so iconic that it adorns much of the council’s own publicity.
Sadly, in recent years, the exterior has been deteriorated by the elements, placing a noticeable dark shadow on the north side and a blot on North Tyneside’s coastal landscape. Residents and tourists now frequently mention the faded and stained condition of the landmark, disappointed that more is not being actively done to maintain its beauty.
In 2018 a 2.1 million refurbishment proposal was approved by the planning committee, to be funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Sadly, the bid for the funds was declined later that year, with the council committing to explore other options to carry out the repairs.
To safeguard the lighthouse’s future and to preserve the beauty of our coastal horizon, Council asks the mayor to commit to:
1. Publish options looked at so far to secure alternative funding for the refurbishment proposal.
2. Confirm it is still the Council’s intention to perform these (or other) refurbishment works to safeguard the future of the site.
3. In the interim, commit to painting of the Lighthouse to restore its appearance and that of our coastal horizon.
An amendment was moved by Councillor C Johnson and seconded by Councillor J O’Shea as follows:
Delete the following wording at paragraph 3
“and a blot on North Tyneside’s coastal landscape. Residents and tourists now frequently mention the faded and stained condition of the landmark, disappointed that more is not being actively done to maintain its beauty”.
And the 3rd bullet point
3. In the interim, commit to painting of the Lighthouse to restore its appearance and that of our coastal horizon.
Add a new paragraph 4 as follows:
In 2017 the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) confirmed funding for the site to be fully refurbished, unfortunately the planning committee rejected the planning application.
And a new Bullet point 3 as follows:
3. Reconfirm the Mayor and Cabinet’s commitment to include the repainting in next year’s budget proposals. As doing it in year would require borrowing outside what is already allocated in the Authority’s budget which would lead to additional borrowing costs £100,000 per year for the next decade whilst considering it in the budget for next year would not come with additional borrowing costs.
The amended motion therefore read:
St Mary’s Lighthouse
St Mary’s lighthouse is one of the Borough’s most iconic landmarks, visible along much of the North East coast and from towns across North Tyneside and Northumberland. It brings tourism to the area and forms a hub for vital marine conservation activities.
The lighthouse has been a muse to many an artist and photographer and is so iconic that it adorns much of the council’s own publicity.
Sadly, in recent years, the exterior has been deteriorated by the elements, placing a noticeable dark shadow on the north side.
In 2017 the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) confirmed funding for the site to be fully refurbished, unfortunately the planning committee rejected the planning application.
In 2018 a 2.1 million refurbishment proposal was approved by the planning committee, to be funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Sadly the bid for the funds was declined later that year, with the council committing to explore other options to carry out the repairs.
To safeguard the lighthouse’s future and to preserve the beauty of our coastal horizon, Council asks the mayor to:
1. Publish options looked at so far to secure alternative funding for the refurbishment proposal.
2. Confirm it is still the Council’s intention to perform these (or other) refurbishment works to safeguard the future of the site.
3. Reconfirm the Mayor and Cabinet’s commitment to include the repainting in next year’s budget proposals. As doing it in year would require borrowing outside what is already allocated in the Authority’s budget which would lead to additional borrowing costs £100,000 per year for the next decade whilst considering it in the budget for next year would not come with additional borrowing costs.
The amendment, on being put to the meeting, was approved unanimously.
The substantive motion, on being put to the meeting, was approved unanimously.