Cheshire East commit to energy efficiency with new lights

 

Cheshire East Council is showing its commitment to putting residents first by investing nearly £10m in LED street lighting.

Following the successful upgrade of street lighting on main traffic routes last year, a further £9.5m is being invested to convert the majority of Cheshire East Council’s street lights to LED over the next three years.

The LED replacements start this month and focus on residential roads. A total of 24,000 lights are to be replaced over three years, including 3,000 lampposts.

The new street lighting produces a ‘white light’ which improves visibility and colour recognition to help promote and maintain safety for residents and road users. The improvement in the quality of lighting will have a positive impact on vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

LED street lighting is also designed to direct light downwards on to the road, reducing light pollution into properties.

It is more economical and produces less carbon than conventional street lighting. Installation of this technology across Cheshire East is reducing the Council’s carbon footprint and will deliver annual savings on street lighting energy consumption in excess of 40 per cent for the Council and Cheshire East residents.

LEDs are more reliable than the existing street lighting and have an estimated service life of 10-20 years. The improved reliability will result in fewer faults and therefore less disruption to the network, which would otherwise require engineer repair visits.

Councillor David Brown, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council and Cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “The energy savings and carbon reduction associated with this investment in LEDs will secure real benefits for Cheshire East.

“Most importantly, though, we hope that this innovation will help to improve feelings of safety within our communities.”

A total of 11,500 street lights have already been replaced following a programme of upgrades focused on traffic routes. Additionally, there has been a successful pilot of residential areas which led to this widespread LED lighting programme.

The street lighting LED programme can be found on Cheshire East Council’s website at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/highways. Cheshire East Highways can also be contacted on 0300 123 5020.