Project Focus

THORN LIGHTS THE WAY TO MORE ‘DYNAMIC, APPEALING AND ASPIRATIONAL’ HIGH STREET

Thorn has supplied the lighting for North Ayrshire Council’s £2.8m project to upgrade Irvine High Street, part of an area-wide regeneration initiative named Irvine Vision.

The team at Thorn Lighting worked with Land Use Consultants (LUC) and mechanical and electrical engineer Hawthorne Boyle to design a comprehensive upgrade for the main streetscape through Irvine Town Centre. This included the High Street, Bank Street and several Closes that link them to the rest of the town centre.

Key objectives for the project were to create a pedestrian-friendly environment by improving circulation, introducing traffic calming measures, widening footways, reducing street clutter, and upgrading the lighting to facilitate safer access through the town centre, while protecting the environment and reducing operating costs.

The scheme celebrates Irvine’s heritage and references its connection to the sea and river. The main streets seek to create a cohesive public realm, linking the recent developments at Bridgegate and the Town House. In the Closes, the detailed design relates to each close’s history, revitalising them as connections into the town centre.

Thorn faced challenges in balancing the luminaires that would achieve the correct lux levels and uniformity whilst giving the area a unique look and contemporary feel that would integrate with North Ayrshire Council’s required CMS system. These challenges were overcome by utilising a mix of column and wall mounted solutions with Thorn’s in-house Satys brackets on walls to complement the column units and mounting Dyana LED lanterns on bespoke columns.

Thorn’s Dyana LED lanterns meet all of today’s demands for eco-friendly road lighting and are virtually maintenance-free, with a 12-year service life. With distinctive product design, outstanding optics, and great versatility, this saucer-shaped luminaire (only 110mm in thickness), is available in 3,000 and 5,000 lumen packages with a colour temperature of 4200K (neutral white). The high power LEDs are boosted by a patented lens and aluminium reflection system for uniform and glare-free illumination.

Duncan McLean, Director of Landscape Architecture at LUC comments, “The refurbishment of the town centre lighting is a fundamental component to Irvine’s regeneration. It contributes to the creation of a vibrant and safer environment at all times of the day, 365 days a year. The Thorn Dyana LED lantern has proved to be a robust and elegant solution for Irvine Town Centre.”

Abrar Suleman, Electrical Services Engineer at Hawthorne Boyle, says, “Thorn has helped the Hawthorne Boyle and LUC team deliver a hugely impressive, visually stunning lighting scheme that reflects the new Irvine Streetscape - upgraded for today and future aspirations. Irvine Town Centre is now an attraction in its own right, and we frequently see local people stopping to admire the Thorn columns and light fittings that line and illuminate the central streets.”

The new lighting scheme is a complete success and has improved colour rendering, highlighting the new paving and street layout, giving a more modern feel to the area. Councillor Alex Gallagher comments, “Growing our economy, increasing employment, and regenerating towns are priorities for North Ayrshire Council. The project confirms our commitment to delivering the Irvine Vision initiative based on building a more dynamic, appealing, and aspirational town centre.”

The scheme celebrates Irvine’s heritage and references its connection to the sea and river Thorn Lighting, thornlighting.co.uk