THE River Tavy by Abbey Bridge could be lit up at night in future, if investigations prove successful.

Members of the town council's properties committee last week heard that floodlights had been installed at the weir by the Tavistock Enhancement Group in the early 1990s.

Several councillors had been contacted and asked if the council could take on responsibility for the lights and bring them back into operation.

Cllr Mandy Govier said she thought the floodlights were a good idea and one which had been suggested several years ago.

But she warned that the council needed to be careful to take account of the environmental aspects of such a scheme, particularly as in many places in the country, street lighting was being turned off at night.

Cllr Govier said: 'It's very much a leisure area and people do have to walk through the Meadows at night.

'We have to make a sensible, balanced decision — members of the public are very conscious of what their council tax is paying for — things which some people would deem a frippery.'

Cllr Philip Sanders said: 'If I had my way I would turn off every light — I can't stand the things, they ruin the night sky.

'But we do have to be slightly sensitive to the economic situation at the moment — a lot of people are starting to suffer now and it's not a good time to be spending money unnecessarily.'

Cllr Sanders suggested the floodlights at the weir, which were already in situ, should be the only ones to be used at present. He also suggested the leaf catcher in the river could do with being speeded up — a suggestion enthusiastically backed by Cllr Ted Sherrell.

'It only goes at the speed of the average Argyle goalkeeper — with about the same ability to catch!' he said.

It was also suggested that the lights could be a project which might be supported by the chamber of commerce's BID (Business Improvement District) team.

The committee agreed that further investigations regarding lighting options take place.