British rules raise cost of repairing church lights

LONDON — How many electricians does it take to change a light bulb? In at least one British church, more than it used to.

New British government safety regulations that went into effect last April require “safe landing areas or rest platforms” for any job more than 29 feet off the ground.

At St. Benet’s Catholic Church in East Anglia, northeast of London, replacing the halogen bulbs 40 feet above the nave used to be a two-hour job for one man and a ladder, at a cost of about $360.

But now, under the Work at Height Regulations — which govern anyone working at a height where there is a risk of fall and injury — the job requires two men and scaffolding — at a cost of $2,367.