THE fizz could be taken out of future Illuminations plans for Blackpool Tower.

Blackpool Council wants to stop the attraction being used as a giant advertising billboard during the Illuminations.

Having allowed £500,000 fizzy drink adverts - first for Pepsi, then for Fanta - to emblazon the Tower until the end of 1999, council chiefs want less blatant commercial sponsorship after that.

Regeneration and development chairman Councillor George Bancroft told the Citizen: "We're trying to negotiate a long-term agreement with the Tower's owners to prevent an unseemly argument over what's acceptable each year.

"The Tower is Blackpool's symbol and a listed building - we'd like to see it being used not just as a giant billboard, but an attractive display that sponsors would be glad to be associated with, not necessarily emblazoning the name of a product."

Other deals worked well on this basis, he said, with several Illuminations tableaux carrying much less-obtrusive sponsor names.

Last year the First Leisure-owned Tower was in darkness for two weeks because Blackpool Council ordered a re-design, saying the first Fanta sign would be too visible in daylight for a listed building.

This year First Leisure wants to add lightning bolts to the sign. The council is not objecting as they will not be visible during the day, but the Environment Ministry has the final say.

The company was first allowed a three-year agreement for a giant Pepsi sign amid much controversy in 1994, and a three-year agreement with Coca-Cola (which owns Fanta) followed last year.

First Leisure, which is selling the Tower, piers and Winter Gardens, maintains the sponsorship is needed to help maintain the 104-year-old building.

Spokesman Brian Crompton said: "The form of the design is very dependent on the sponsor.

"It's very difficult to get commercial sponsorship and a lot of people worked very hard to get the commitment we have.

"Any design has to be submitted to the democratic process and so far English Heritage has raised no objections.

"It takes a level-headed approach to the problems of maintaining a listed building, and after all it's only a temporary sign which does not change the structure in any way."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.