New floodlights set to make the Iron Bridge shine

The Iron Bridge will be lit with warm white LEDs during the week, and at weekends will be turned a fiery "furnace" colour if newly submitted plans are given the go-ahead.

Designer LPA Lighting said extensive computer modelling had been carried out to work out the best possible way to illuminate the world famous structure.

English Heritage, which has spent the last year restoring the bridge, said no lights or cabling could be attached to the bridge itself, so that its historic fabric could be protected.

Instead, six columns of varying heights from which to hang the 33 lights will be put up around the bridge.

A spokeswoman for LPA Lighting, said: "There has been permanent floodlighting to the bridge for nearly 40 years, but the installation is now life-expired and the floodlights are located in positions that are inundated by flood water.

"The existing scheme consists of large sodium floodlights, which have very poorly controlled light distributions and due to their location, being set lower than the main structure means that they have to aim upwards, thus a significant amount of the light that misses the bridge enters the sky.

"The sodium light sources universally render the painted iron structure, banks and surrounding foliage an overall yellow-orange colour, doing little to showcase the architecture of the bridge.

"The existing installation is no longer fit for purpose and the celebration of Telford 50, alongside the English Heritage conservation project brings the opportunity for a new, more advanced, floodlighting scheme to be commissioned."

Celebrate

Using red and amber LEDs, the Iron Bridge will be turned a "furnace" colour at weekends, as a way to celebrate the industrial heritage of the area.

Originally there had been plans for other colours, but they were designed around the bridge's old grey colour and had to be scrapped when it was painted red.

Because the new colour is darker than it was, significantly more lighting will be needed to cover the bridge.

Flooding is another big challenge that LPA Lighting has had to overcome in the design of its new floodlights. Wooden columns will be carefully placed so that they do not impact on enjoyment of the bridge.

A spokeswoman for LPA Lighting said: "The project presents a number of challenges, not least of which is the flooding of the Gorge. All of our investigations had led us to be absolutely certain that the only viable solution is to have columns located on the riverbanks to house the floodlights.

"We believe that the benefits, emotional and economic, of having the Bridge illuminated at night outweigh the impact that the scheme will have on the daytime appearance of the setting."

The work is being done as part of Telford 50's legacy, as well as the English Heritage conservation project.

A decision will be made on the application by Telford & Wrekin Council in the coming months.