Light the size of an armchair falls near popular walkway

5:24 pm on 30 April 2023

By Frances Chin of Stuff

Light crashes in Wellington CBD

A large street lamp the size of an armchair has fallen in central Wellington. Photo: Stuff / Monique Ford

A street light the size of an armchair has collapsed near a frequented walkway to a Wellington government building.

A multi-bulbed street lamp situated on a retaining wall above Bowen St, near the entrance to the Ministry of Education, has fallen to the ground with its base appearing to have rusted through.

This follows Wellington City Council struggling with the fallout of its 17,000 street lamps being at risk due to wind not being factored.

Light crashes in Wellington CBD

The broken street light is one of several located on Bowen St near the Reserve Bank. Photo: Stuff / Monique Ford

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said the council's on-call staff looked at the lamp today, but it was not immediately clear whether the lights were council assets or privately owned.

The council would confirm on Monday, and would double-check the structural state of the other similar light clusters nearby.

Previously, the council came under fire after it was reported faulty connecting parts in 17,000 street lamps needed to be replaced, with 17 15kg lamps hitting the ground before the council ordered an urgent investigation.

The council in February claimed only a "small handful" of the city's lights were affected by the fault.

Light crashes in Wellington CBD - this is the base

The light cluster fell from this stand. Photo: Stuff / Monique Ford

This story was first published by Stuff.

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