Bulletin - Vol 8 No. 5 September/October 2005

UK light tower to be replaced?

by Matthew Brown, Eastbourne News, 31 August 2005

Eastbourne's Sovereign Light Tower could be replaced by a light vessel or buoy under a national review. Trinity House, which runs lighthouses throughout the country, has announced a evaluation of all lighthouses including the famous Beachy Head lighthouse and the Royal Sovereign Light Tower.

First indications are that the lighthouse at Beachy Head is safe, but there is uncertainty surrounding the light tower. Both are unmanned. It has been suggested that it could be replaced with a buoy instead.

No one was available from Trinity House this week to talk about the proposals.

'It would be a shame to lose the tower because it is such a prominent landmark and it would need to be replaced to stop ships drifting into the shallow water,' said fisherman Peter Storey, who lands his catch in the area. 'At the moment it protects boats, because there is some very shallow ground to the north where the water is only 12ft deep. It would need to be replaced with a light vessel or a buoy to protect ships from getting into danger.'

Mark Sawyer, coxswain of the Eastbourne all-weather lifeboat, the Royal Thames, agreed with Mr Storey. He said, 'I understand the reasons behind why Trinity House want to review the use of the Royal Sovereign. It's a massive structure, with living quarters which are now redundant, and it costs a lot to maintain. For us it's useful as it's five-and-a-half miles from Sovereign Harbour and when casualty vessels don't know their position they can usually see the Royal Sovereign. As a navigational aid, there would be no difference if it was replaced by a buoy. However, the lights which are emitted from it have helped us rescue a couple of small boats recently, whose crew would have been unable to tell us their position because their GPS had broken down.'

Many small boat owners are concerned that in poor weather and without GPS they could get into danger. Fishermen, yacht owners, harbour masters, and other interested parties will be consulted in the exercise.

Cllr David Elkin, Eastbourne Borough Council spokesperson for tourism, said, 'Royal Sovereign Lighthouse is a familiar landmark for Eastbourne and a growing attraction for visitors enjoying pleasure boat trips, and would be missed should it be replaced.'

Source: http://www.eastbournetoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=488&ArticleID=1130460

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