PLANS to refurbish the Bude Light to its former self are now underway, following the acceptance of a quote by the recreation committee, as discussed by Bude-Stratton Town Council during their full council meeting on September 1.

With funding already accessed, and a virement of up to £10,000 available for the council to carry out the work needed, Bude-Stratton’s recreation committee recently agreed on a quote, offering a ten-year guarantee.

Cllr Frank Partridge, member of the recreation committee, explained to full council that there are three stages to restoring Bude Light to its former self, including the light, seating and electrics, which beforehand was too much work and money.

However, following the agreement of a quote offering a ten-year guarantee the plans to restore the Bude Light are finally taking a step forward — this comes after months of waiting and anticipation from supporters of one of the town’s most well-known features.

One town councillor commented on the possibilities to consider regarding Bude Light, suggesting that more should be done rather than restoring what the feature was like before, which wasn’t too popular with some. He said: “I thought what we were supposed to be doing was making something spectacular, something more than just restoring what it was like before. I just think we shouldn’t restrict ourselves and that we should consider other alternatives.”

Cllr Partridge, who assured the council that they are currently in the first stage of working towards restoring the Bude Light, was certain that the project would have to be undertaken in the correct manner.

He added: “This has got to be done properly; it’s a very costly exercise. I’m told that it was done properly in 2005, as we took advice from the architect who designed and built the Bude Light, but we have to make sure that it’s done professionally, so that we don’t face the same problem again.

“The quote we have accepted, which proved to be the best of all quotes that were considered at recreation, will allow us to restore the Bude Light to its original state.”

Town councillors then proceeded to agree on the transferring of funds of £10,000 to complete the works.