45,000 street lights across County Durham are to be replaced with state- of- the- art LED lights which are greener and cheaper to run.
A six year programme is now underway and will save around £24m over a 25 year period. It will also see carbon emissions from street lights, which are part of the project, reduced by 73% over the same time span. The LED lights provide a white light source which is clearer and aids visibility.
Alongside the start of the scheme the County Council is also revising its street lighting policy. Cabinet members will be asked to start a public consultation on changes which include getting rid of redundant street lights in some rural unpopulated areas, but only where it is safe to do so. It also proposes a carefully controlled dimming programme in times of low pedestrian and road traffic usage.
The Cabinet member with responsibility for the environment is Cllr Brian Stephens: “The LED lights bring a whole host of benefits. They are much more energy efficient, so will reduce our carbon emissions, and they have a longer lifespan, so will reduce maintenance costs.
“They also provide a clearer white light, which improves visibility. By combining these benefits with a new street lighting policy we can protect the environment and make the financial savings we have to make.”
Subject to the consultation process, the revised policy will set out the council’s approach to reducing lighting levels in between certain hours.
The policy suggests two stage dimming:
10pm – 12am – 25 per cent reduction; 12am – 5am – 50 per cent reduction. Trials have shown that dimming at these levels is usually not perceptible to the human eye.
Cllr Brian Stephens, a new energy efficient street light
