Portishead's Battery Point Lighthouse bell given pride of place in town... but at cost of £20,000
By The Bristol Post | Thursday, January 31, 2013, 05:00
TAXPAYERS in Portishead could be left with a bill of up to £20,000 – for displaying a former lighthouse bell, which was bought for just £1 – in the town centre.
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The former Battery Point bell
Portishead Town Council has been leading the project to make a feature of the bronze bell, which used to hang in the lighthouse at Battery Point.
The bell was installed on the central reservation at Wyndham Way earlier this month and an official unveiling ceremony is due to take place next week.
The bell, which weighs two tonnes, used to hang in the lighthouse and sound to warn sailors travelling along the Bristol Channel of treacherous weather conditions.
It was put in the lighthouse when it was built in 1931 but removed 12 years ago because of structural concerns.
The town council paid £1 for the bell after local residents Annette Hennessy and Carol Thomas tracked it down. Councillors were keen to see the bell put on display and initially set aside £2,500 to spend on architects and planning permission fees.
Councillors then earmarked a further £12,000 to build a special structure for the bell to hang on.
But over the months, the costs of the project increased again with the contractor's bill for its installation now around £14,000.
The town council has also had to foot the bill for additional surveys, including one on the water pipes below the site which is understood to have cost several hundred pounds.
A tree survey has had to be carried out, at the request of North Somerset Council and the bell had to be insured, adding to the costs.
Councillors are concerned the final cost of the bell project could reach as much as £20,000.
Money for the project was taken out of reserves from the council's environmental, cultural, heritage and allotment budget.
Councillor David Pasley wants a breakdown of the costs to be given at next month's town council meeting.
Mr Pasley said: "As much as it is nice to celebrate the heritage, to spend this much money on putting the bell on show is ridiculous."
Town council officials said the final costs for the project were not yet available as some invoices were still awaited.
Comments
14.03am ???????
By polyphase at 13:09 on 04/02/13
ReportOh I am terribly sorry everyone, I did not know that one couldn't use expressions like a ***** of conscience because the word has other connotations!
By thurti365 at 18:11 on 03/02/13
ReportWhat a shame that this site has been changed to alleviate the embarrassment of Sands73 at 11.42am or did he feel a ***** of conscience seeing my response back at 14.03am? Hopefully all to be circulated later with a little help from my friends.
By thurti365 at 18:05 on 03/02/13
ReportHaving read about Ann Hennessey a lot since coming to Portishead I for one am glad that she does not join a council that seems to be lacking in morality, integerity and openness. I'm sure that without the efforts of such people a lot would be hidden away from local residents. I am sure the council have fritttered away a lot more than £20,000 on other personal little projects over the years. But in saying that I read soemwhere that the money for the bell came from a heritage fund so isn't that precisely why that fund exists? It's a shame the reporting of the matter wasn't a little more accurate with its details.
By Hillcran at 15:24 on 03/02/13
ReportAnd why a second story on the bell is one not enough ? the inscription is wrong anyway Erected in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year 2012 by Portishead Town Council". that is the biggest outright lie of them all and they do tell a few this cannot be allowed to stay on the bell they were hardly involved lies lies lies
By jojomojomoto at 13:32 on 03/02/13
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