A CALL has been made for more to be done to light up Colchester's historic treasures.

Councillors Darius Laws and Ben Locker have called on Colchester Council to finding funding to illuminate Colchester's famous Roman wall and other heritage sites.

Mr Laws trialled his idea when he used £500 from his locality budget to light up the Jumbo water tower during Heritage Weekend last year.

Now he wants to council to expand the scheme.

He said: "This idea has been almost a decade in the making.

"We have all this fantastic and unique heritage which is in some cases unloved, in some cases, unexploited and in some cases, unlight.

"We have wonderful heritage and we should make the most of it.

"I think people recognise we have a homogeneous High Street so you have to play to your strengths which is the town's history.

"I realise there are challenges with lighting up parts of the Roman wall near residential areas but you should be able to do so near Balkerne Hill and Middleborough.

"We went out with some battery-powered LED panel lights costing about £100 per unit.

"We shined them on the wall and it was remarkable how well they light up the wall.

"There could be LED strip lights installed in the ground. They are not expensive and they last for ages.

"I think all Colchester's historic buildings should be light up including the castle, St John's Abbeygate and Trinity Church.

"We want the town centre to be vibrant and special and we should be shining a light on our heritage."

Mr Laws said he believed there should be a collaboration between the borough council, Essex County Council and groups such as the Colchester Archaeological Trust and the Friends of Colchester Roman Wall.

He now plans to write to Tim Young, the council's portfolio holder for culture, calling for more action.

Fellow Tory councillor Ben Locker added: "As a concept, I think it would be brilliant.

"We have so much amazing heritage here but do not promote it well enough.

"There is a brown sign directing people from the A12 to Gnome World but not to Colchester Castle.

"With no disrespect to Gnome World, we have 2,000 years of heritage in Colchester and it is something we need to showcase."

 

 

Gazette:

COLCHESTER Council has already begun lighting up Colchester's historic structures - and said more was in the pipeline.

Ann Hedges, chief operating officer at Colchester Council, said both Colchester Castle and town hall had been illuminated.

And she said investigations were underway into lighting up part of the Roman wall as part of the redevelopment of Priory Street car park.

Ms Hedges also pointed out the council was committed to protecting heritage assets such as the £400,000 capital programme to repair and mainten the Roman wall.

She added the council may also bid for Heritage Lottery funding to allow more projects to get underway.

Ms Hedges also had a word of caution, however. She said while some buildings were being light up, consideration also had to be given to light pollution and energy usage.