PLANNING GO-AHEAD FOR REPLACEMENT FLOODLIGHTING AT VILLAGE CHURCH

St Margaret's - parts of the church, including the nave, and north arcade, date back to the 12th Century

THE planning go-ahead has been given for replacement floodlights to be installed outside one of North East Lincolnshire's finest churches - St Margaret in Laceby.

The church has been unlit for some while after checks by an electrician revealed that existing lighting was "no longer fit for purpose".

He advised that there was a risk of fire at the circuit board which is inside the church which is Grade I Listed.

The five new lights will be LED which is less costly to run  than the previous sodium.

It is thought that LED will also be less harmful to the environment and safer for the church.

There were no objections from householders living near the church or other villagers. 

It is not known if any prior survey was conducted about the potentially adverse impact on bats or roosting songbirds.

The application submitted by Laceby Parish Council was approved by a North East Lincolnshire Council case officer under delegated powers without the need for deliberation by the planning committee.

* Photo: Mgrest / English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons. 

The Grimsby News says: In these eco-friendly times, why the compulsion by the parish council to floodlight St Margaret's? The exercise will drink energy, cost the village ratepayer and probably have a negative impact on bats and any songbirds seeking to roost in nearby trees. What is more, a church - particularly as splendid as this one - surely has far greater grandeur in the dark than when  Disneyfied by  artificial lighting?