LASER work with Hastings Borough Council to win prestigious award.

Hastings Borough Council was awarded Outdoor Lighting Project of the Year at the Lux Awards on 15th November 2018 following a project with LASER to transform Bottle Alley into a vibrant spectacle of light for tourists and residents of all ages to enjoy. Our Lighting Development Manager Joseph Stewart attended the Awards evening and was delighted when the project won and Hastings Borough Council collected their award. “This was a really great project to be involved in, I’m proud that we have pulled together a team to help support Hastings Borough Council deliver this part of their vision for the seafront regeneration, Hastings is a great town to visit and I believe this project has made it even better.”

Bottle Alley 

Bottle Alley is a 500 metre lower deck promenade situated alongside the Hastings pier. Built in the 1930s, Bottle Alley was named as such due to the countless pieces of multiple coloured glass bottles embedded in the concrete panels along the entire length of the walkway. The alley had since aged however, resulting in a poorly-lit and unsafe setting, often attracting anti-social behaviour.

Bottle Hastings Borough Council wanted to start a project to improve the surroundings of Bottle Alley for residents and tourists to enjoy and feel safe around, and so they contacted LASER for information on our LED Lighting Services. After a thorough evaluation of drawings, materials, costs and technical specifications, the project was started in October 2017 and was fully completed within six weeks. The alley has now been transformed into an award winning tourist attraction with a daily light show for all to enjoy.

The Project

The original lighting was in very poor condition, with much of it in a state of disrepair and non-working condition. Its historical nature and design meant that it was starting to show its age, and the lighting was seen as something that was so integral to its improvement that Hastings directly invested in it.

Aware of the impact lighting can have on the space, the council took the opportunity to work with 
LASER’s LED team, who recommended a supplier of specialist colour changing LED lighting which can be procured via LASER’s OJEU compliant framework. The colour changing lighting for the whole length of Bottle Alley is programmable to create different light displays and can be synchronised to music to create wonderful light and sound demonstrations.

An innovative string lighting unit with Stainless Steel framework designed to withstand the salty coastal location was proposed. Additionally, the lights included a programming facility to enable a daily ‘light show’ every evening and to provide interchangeable daily programs to support specific notable events in the year. One local resident said; “I think it’s going to draw people down here, isn’t it. I mean who wouldn’t want to come and see this, it’s lovely.” The new lighting display will also now support community and borough-wide events, such as the St Leonards Festival and Bonfire celebrations.

Its key innovation is the ability to be able to alter the speed, colour and lumen output of each ‘pixel’ with the power to program each individual LED to music. This flexibility combined with its unusual location, and the way the light bounces off the walls and reflects in the sea water, gives a truly unique and magical feel.

For more information on how we can help you achieve a successful LED lighting project and reduce energy costs, contact us at ledlighting@laserenergy.org.uk