Broch lights could be turned off overnight to save money

CLICKIMIN Broch’s lights could be turned off from midnight under a suggestion from Lerwick Community Council’s (LCC) chairman. 

Jim Anderson questioned whether it would be worth the LCC exploring switching the lights off from a certain time every night, possibly from midnight.

The lights – which are looked after and maintained by the LCC – are turned on overnight to illuminate the historic broch.

They are switched on with a sensor, coming on when it goes dark and switching off again at dawn.

The broch also been lit up in different colours on occasion, to mark significant events such as anti-racism education and dyslexia awareness.

However Anderson said it was costly to light the broch all the way through to the morning.

He also said they could be causing “light pollution” by having the lights on overnight.

“It’s a lot of money we’re spending that could be spent elsewhere,” he added.

Anderson said the cost of switching the lights on year-round was around £1,000, which had historically been based on estimated meter readings.

However he said they had since installed a smart meter, which should provide more accurate readings.

A future meeting of the LCC will discuss the possibility of turning the lights off after a certain time, he added.