King Orry statue lights 'acceptable' to bats

The statue was approved following a planning appeal 

Additional information has been submitted for how the King Orry statue at St John's will be lit. 

The statue, which is being privately funded, was given the green light after a planning appeal was dismissed.

Standing at just under three metres tall and 1.8 metres wide, the illuminated statue of Godred Croven with his arm outstretched is to be placed on a verge adjacent to Tynwald Hill in recognition of the Norse origins of the Island's parliament. 

In the latest update provided to planners by CJ Design Limited, Howard Wood, the managing director at Luminaires explained the company has opted for lights that will provide 'good coverage of the statue without completely flooding it with light'.

He added: "The lights supplied are 3000K so if the bat people insist they must be 2700K these don’t comply, however, as per instructions from the guys that made the sculpture the lights are positioned to be directed to focus on the statue and have a very controlled beam width to reduce light spillage to a minimum but you can never say there isn’t any spillage. 

"Also the lights will be directed away from the woodland that is behind the statue and I imagine that you can fit a timer to the lights to ensure they are on for as least time as possible to reduce any impact they may have on bat activity which I understand from a bit of research is mostly around dusk and dawn."

The lights used have the potential to disrupt bat feeding habits and the surrounding habitats. 

Mr Wood said that while it is 'preferable to have lights that are 2700K it is acceptable to use 3000K lights in areas were there are bat habitats'. 

He added: "The lighting chosen has a 26 degree adjustable beam width to reduce light spill into the sky and nearby trees. The focus is on the statue not lighting the surrounding area to try and reduce the disruption to the feeding habits and the habitat of animals in the vicinity."