NUNEATON will not shine a light on one of the most important days in the history of the nation.
The town’s Rotarians have had to abandon plans to station a beacon on the town’s highest point during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Members of the Rotary Club of Nuneaton had hoped to shine the beacon fromthe top of Mount Judd to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.
Preliminary talks had been held with soldiers from 30th Signal Regiment at Bramcote with a view to enlisting their aid.
But Rotary Club secretary Colin Harris: “We have reluctantly had to abandon the idea.
“We looked into it but we finally decided that there were too many hurdles to overcome.”
The beacon was the brainchild of Rotarian Peter Woodward Gregg, one of several potential projects with which he had been involved.
He made a tentative approach to 30 Signal Regiment at Bramcote and had spoken to the waste management company that owns Mount Judd off Tuttle Hill.
There was even talk of an array of spotlights that would beam out from the top of the man-made mound and shine for miles around.
Bruno Peek, the Jubilee Beacon’s Pageant Master had given Nuneaton his approval.
“It is a shame, but we are not in a position to move ahead with it,” said Colin Harris.
“There are too many practical difficulties to overcome so we felt it was best to call it off now.”
A total of 2012 beacons will shine out across the nation to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the second longest reigning monarch in England’s history.
Following a Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, the Queen will shine a laser down The Mall to light the National Beacon and set off a chain of beacons that will sweep across the United Kingdom.
The beacons will be lit up at precise, two minute intervals and 60 beacons will also light up along Hadrian’s Wall, one for each year of the Queen’s reign.
