Light shone on ownership and improved efficiency of streetlamps in West Suffolk

15 Jun 2022

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Councillors are set to discuss an initiative to look at ownership of streetlights in West Suffolk as well as making them more efficient and environmentally friendly.

West Suffolk Council’s cabinet will consider at their meeting on 21 June an initial scene-setting report for a review of the ownership of street lighting in the district with partner councils.  

The cabinet agreed to carry out the review following concerns raised earlier in the year by local councillors and parish and town councils.

The review will precede a planned wider review after the 2023 elections of the opportunities for the new West Suffolk Council to work even more closely with town and parish councils, which was delayed by the response to the pandemic.

The initial report highlights that, in West Suffolk, there are over 20,000 streetlights on roads, footpaths, car parks, parks and monuments.  Mostly owned and operated by the county council. But, for a variety of historical and local reasons, there is no consistent pattern of street light ownership in the UK, not least West Suffolk.  Accordingly, the actual proportion of lights owned by the county, district and parish/town councils and social landlords varies from one place to the next. 

Cabinet is being asked to support a more detailed audit over this summer, working with Suffolk County Council and parish and town councils, to establish better information on the lights that each council owns and the costs to run them. 

Importantly the audit will also look at if the streetlights can be upgraded, if not already done so, to modern LED lights as part of the existing programme in Suffolk. This countywide initiative has to-date reduced the running costs of lights which have been replaced by over 75%, as well as reducing their carbon footprint. It is part of wider work across Suffolk to tackle climate change.

The report before Cabinet also suggests that the audit seeks to establish why the lights were originally provided, and whether they are all still needed. 

Cllr Carol Bull, Cabinet Member for Governance, said: “Having listened to the concerns of local councillors we were keen to get started on this review ahead of the larger planned piece of work on our relationship with town and parish councils starting in 2023. But having carried out an initial investigation it is obvious that this is a complex picture with various organisations having a range of responsibilities. Therefore, we need a lot more information which is currently held by partner local councils. and we hope they will be able to work with us and the county council over the summer to carry out the proposed audit. The results of this will then help inform next steps, to bring clarity and environmental benefits.”
 


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