Agenda item

Report of the Managing Director of BHE

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE presenting a Bridge Lighting Policy to be considered and agreed in the best interests of BHE, setting out guidelines and a process to follow regarding requests to use the lighting system on the five Thames Bridges in support of third-party initiatives, anniversaries and events of national significance. The Chair introduced the item, advising that the policy was most relevant to Tower Bridge but involved the other bridges.

Members commented that a notional limit on uses should be considered in order to preserve the exceptionality of use of the bridges, and sought further information on costs. The Executive Director of Environment added that the wording could be tweaked to give a sense of a limit on usage, and could be aligned with the management of streets. With respect to costs, the costs for events requiring minor changes were usually met by the charity as being de minimus, but for events on a larger scale such as the Lord Mayor’s Show, reimbursement of costs were sought. A Member commented that lighting displays should be cost-neutral for the charity.

In response to a questions from the Board, the Executive Director of Environment further advised that there was an existing relationship with TfL with regards to Special Event Management, and that use of Tower Bridge was often requested by the GLA and TfL, who had an interest as the highway authority. The Board also noted that banners and structures were typically only authorised for operational reasons, such as for the London Marathon, and suggested that those seeking to put up lighting should demonstrate how they intended to minimise and mitigate against the carbon impact of the display.

The Chair thanked Members for their comments and proposed the policy be approved, accounting for the feedback provided by the Board, and this was agreed.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board, subject to comments being incorporated, approve the BHE Bridge Lighting Policy appended.