Street lighting in Leicestershire is changing

From April 2010, the County Council is starting a four year programme to reduce street lighting.  This will:

We currently own and maintain 66,000 street lights and 12,000 illuminated signs.  We have an ambitious programme to reduce our carbon emissions by 30% by 2014 and we also need to save £66 million over the next 4 years.  One of the ways we will be able to achieve these targets is to reduce the level of street lighting we provide across the County.  

In addition we are now using low energy bulbs when installing a new street light or undertaking lantern replacements on existing street lights. They provide a similar level of illumination while reducing energy consumption by about 30%.  We are also removing illumination from signs and some bollards, whilst still ensuring we comply with government regulations.

Lights in your area may be subject to the following changes:

1.  Part-night lighting - Lights turned off from midnight to 5.30am in residential areas in consultation with local communities.

2.  Dimmed - Lights turned down on urban through-routes when traffic flows are lighter.

3.  Switched off - A small number of lights in rural areas are being switched off.  

The emergency services support these proposals in principle and will be consulted on all proposals.  They will also be involved in monitoring the effects of any changes.

We estimate that these plans will reduce our current carbon dioxide emissions by up to 3000 tonnes per year - that’s 23% of our total street lighting emissions (equivalent to the carbon used by 5,500 average Leicestershire homes - a community about the size of Ashby de la Zouch!).  Of course, this project is all about saving Council tax-payers money too, and we calculate it will save up to £700,000 a year.

Several other county councils, including Essex and Gloucestershire, have completed successful trials of part-night lighting schemes, and Leicester City Council is rolling out dimming of lights on the main routes into the city.

We will carry out a risk assessment for every area in which changes are proposed.  As part of this process, we will identify street lights that are not to be altered i.e. will remain operating all night.  These street lights will be identified using a set of criteria and in addition, through consultation with the parish or town council and the emergency services.

For further general information see our Frequently Asked Questions

To tell us what you think of our lighting proposals use our lighting feedback form.