The spotlight—both literal and figurative—fell on the town’s cherished 180-year-old Lucombe Oak at November’s Crewkerne council meeting. At the heart of the debate was a proposal to install 150-watt LED floodlights around the historic tree, igniting a fiery clash of opinions about environmental ethics, fiscal responsibility, and the cultural significance of this towering symbol. The petition, started a month ago by Hilary Copson states: “Our Lucombe Oak in Crewkerne is 180 years old and is cherished by the community.
The public have already saved it once from being felled but now there is another threat to the health of our beautiful tree. We are concerned the tree could die. “Crewkerne Town Council are proposing to install 150w LED floodlights around the tree.
These lights will be installed on ground level and will point upwards to penetrate the branches. 150w LED floodlights are the equivalent of football pitch lighting. “The health of the tree could be at risk because lighting up trees at night can disturb their biological processes, e.
g. prevent them going into dormancy which is essential for their survival through winter. The tree could die.
” “This is a tree we saved from the axe before. Are we now risking its life again?” Karen Rawlinson questioned, representing over 400 signatures on a petition opposing the floodlight plan. “The annual cycles of growth and reproduction in insects and birds are controlled by natural light.
Artificial light can disr.
