Work continues to progress on this coastal landmark as the City Council gives the landmark its tender loving care and attention.
Scaffolding currently adorns the heritage-listed St Mary’s Lighthouse on St Mary’s Island in Whitley Bay while workers carry out repairs and prepare it for a new coat of paint. The lighthouse and island have been closed to visitors since Monday 24 June to allow the works to take place and to reduce the impact on surrounding wildlife.
The lighthouse and island will remain closed until mid-September, but the sea wall will reopen on July 22. North Tyneside Council is investing £883,860 in the restoration work.
Judith Wallace, long-serving St Mary’s councillor, said: “I am delighted that the work is progressing and as far as I know it is going to plan despite the bad weather we have had this summer. That is great news.”
“The dam is still closed but I hear it will be open again by July 22nd, hopefully to coincide with the school holidays so children and families can go and enjoy the tide pools.”
The island keeper’s huts and visitor centre are also due to be repainted and repaired. Other proposals to improve the island are planned later this year, including the installation of equipment that will allow live feeds of local wildlife. These proposals are yet to be approved.
Construction of the lighthouse was completed in 1898 and it was first illuminated in August of the same year. It was taken out of service in 1984 and listed as a historical monument in 2012.
Councillor Wallace has long called for the lighthouse to be refurbished and St Mary’s Conservative Councillor Ian McAlpine put forward a motion to the council last year calling for the refurbishment. At the time, the council’s Labour administration insisted that the lighthouse and island should receive special attention but that this must be reflected in the budget or it could incur £100,000 in borrowing costs over the next decade.
