O2 Centre floodlights on during the day for ‘weeks’, shopping centre’s owners ‘cannot just turn them off’
The Finchley Road O2 Centre. Picture: Google - Credit: Archant
Staff at the O2 Centre in Finchley Road are struggling to turn off floodlights which – thanks to a mechanical malfunction – have been permanently on for at least “a number of weeks”.
The lights in question illuminate the path from the shopping centre to the car park, and a regular shopper there has been hugely concerned about the environmental impact of constantly blazing lights.
Jeremy Beynon, who lives in Hampstead, told this newspaper: "I first noticed it a while ago. The lights are blaring. I don't know why it can't be fixed. I have been walking past there such a long time."
He called it "an appalling waste of energy" and said he did not understand why it was not easier to fix.
In emails seen by the Ham&High, the centre's administrator Sophie Mensah explained to Jeremy: "We are aware of this issues and it is more complex and not just a simple quick fix. We are currently liaising with our contractors and are trying to get this resolved as soon as we can."
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A spokesperson for Landsec, the company who own the shopping centre, told the Ham&High that dealing with the issue was "a priority" for them, but could not say how long it would take to source the needed replacement part and fix the problem.
They explained it had occurred because the lights cannot be separated from the centre's wider electrics.
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It is understood that the issue relates to a timer stuck on the 'on' position, and that because the circuit is connected to others at the centre, it is not possible to just switch the lights off.
Landsec would not say precisely how long it had been aware of the issue - only that it had been "a number of weeks".
The floodlights lead to the car park behind the centre which may not be on site for much longer.
Landsec have begun consulting on plans to build 1000 homes on the car park and hope to submit a planning application to this effect by early 2020.
Have you spotted this problem? What do you think? Let Sam know by emailing Sam.Volpe@Archant.co.uk or letters@hamhigh.co.uk
