Coed Melyn Park located next to Allt-yr-Yn in the City of Newport, Wales is 0.71 kilometres in length. The path, which runs through the park, skirts Coed Melyn woods, St Woolos Cemetery and allotments, and also carries a section of the Sirhowy Valley Walk. Newport City Council has carried out work to upgrade the local area as part of its Active Travel strategy to encourage more people to get active.

The lighting upgrade for the pathway, required a solution that was fully dark skies compliant with zero upward light and IK10 vandal resistant. In addition, the solution had to ensure no light trespass on surrounding properties and that trees remained unlit as the park is known to be frequented by bats and other wildlife, as well as, being energy efficient.

Thorn’s Urba bollard in Warm White 3000K have fully achieved the brief of zero upward light at low lighting level (P6) with a low mounting height (no columns). Urba was the only lighting solution submitted that was fully compliant with the council’s specification.

125 stylish, yet robust Urba bollards are installed along the path with a lighting distribution incorporating an optimised ULOR of 0 and asymmetric optic which reduces obtrusive light and glare. Urba has a contemporary design and is a vandal resistant solution which can be easily integrated into any urban environment. Urba also offers low energy consumption, long lifetime and reduced maintenance.

The public response has been really positive and the council has received great feedback. The local community is very pleased with it and the path is now very popular with dog walkers, runners and cyclists.

The specification and performance of the Urba Bollard has enhanced the area and helped with well-being and improved safety while considering minimal impact on the local wildlife and the environment.

Councillor Roger Jeavons, Newport City Council’s cabinet member for city services, said: “The bollards have proved a great solution to our desire to balance the safety of those using this vital link with the natural environment, and particularly the wildlife inhabitants, in this special part of the city. LEDs are also an important tool in our ambition to become a carbon neutral city so this is a really positive step forward for Newport.”

For more information on Thorn and its products see the website www.thornlighting.co.uk