Long-term plan to make sure Tree of Joy stays lit

Problems with some of the light strings, which are controlled by the Town street light system, meant that the tree’s trip switches blew earlier this week.

Rotary Club member Nigel Dorey said that the tree had been functioning as normal on both Tuesday and Wednesday night, with 30 of the 32 strings lighting up.

‘We seemed to have solved the initial problem and switched off two of the strings, fingers crossed everything continues to work.’

The club is set to gain more control of the lights in time for next Christmas, after it submitted a planning application to install an electric control box on the Weighbridge roundabout underneath the tree.

This will mean that the lights are no longer controlled by the street light system and so can be accessed at any time, even during the day.

‘We went to Guernsey Electricity about three months ago and have also got quotes for the installation, and now we’ve submitted the application,’ Mr Dorey said.

‘We’ve had positive replies so I’m hoping work on its installation can begin in the spring.’

He said the new system would provide greater flexibility and would be more robust.

‘At the moment there are two trip switches with 16 lights on each, the new box will have nine switches with a maximum of four lights on each.’

‘If there’s a problem only four lights will go off as opposed to 16 and we will be able to check it straight away rather than waiting for the street lights to be switched on in the evening.’