Ambitious plans which would see the installation of spectacular architectural lighting at one of Scotland’s most iconic structures have been unveiled.
The famous ruins of St Andrews Cathedral could soon be regularly lit up for the first time in a decade thanks to a £195,000 scheme drawn up by local charity St Andrews Partnership and the cathedral’s custodians, Historic Environment Scotland,
Previous lights were removed after falling into disrepair, but charity chairman Jim McArthur is confident that the fundraising target to resurrect the lights will be achieved with the support of both St Andrews residents and the many thousands of tourists who visit annually.
“In 2011-12 we successfully raised almost £150,000 for the restoration of the town’s Martyrs’ Monument and the cathedral is a much-better known structure, with greater visitor numbers and recognition throughout the world,” explained Mr McArthur.
“Many local people will remember how good the cathedral looked when it was lit up previously, and I can promise them that our new lights will be even more breathtaking.
“An internationally-important site like this needs the highest-quality lighting to properly show it at its best, and so the proposal is to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, and to work with two leading specialist companies who have international experience in lighting up world-famous buildings.”
Mr McArthur said the proposed new lights will see colours change for special occasions, such as all in blue for St Andrew’s Day each year, while modern LED technology will reduce running costs to 15% of the previous system’s.
“Most importantly we want to ensure that these lights will be providing a stunning spectacle for many years into the future,” he said.
“Therefore, our fundraising appeal is setting out to raise enough money at the outset not just to buy and install the lights, but to operate and service them for a guaranteed minimum of 15 years.
“With regular maintenance, the system should in fact last longer than that – but those contributing to our appeal can be assured that their donations will be hard at work for an assured minimum of 15 years.”
A new fundraising website – www.standrewslights.com – has just been launched and contains more information about the project, with donations possible either online or via more traditional methods.