Residents and businesses can apply to relocate street lights to enable new or improved accesses for residential driveways or junctions for new developments.
We support Leicestershire residents, where possible, to allow them to widen driveways and increase available off-road parking provision.
The relocation of street lights is often complicated by the layout of the existing lighting system. The spacing between adjacent street lights is critical for the distribution of light on the road surface and, therefore, moving one street light a few metres could have a detrimental impact on lighting levels on the existing highway.
The relocation of our street lights can only be carried out by us, not by other third-party contractors.
We won't be able to give you an indication that approval is likely, without processing your application and undertaking a technical assessment first. The technical assessment involves a site visit and a review of the lighting design (with the street light relocated).
You must pay an initial non-refundable application fee of £200 for an engineer to process your application. This fee must be sent with the application form.
Once your application fee is received, one of our experienced street lighting engineers will visit the site and undertake a technical assessment to determine whether it is feasible to safely relocate the street light.
We may be undertaking between 10-15 technical assessments each day, so we cannot guarantee an exact arrival time. We won't need access to your property, therefore there is no need for you to be there during the assessment.
We aim to advise you on the outcome within 2 weeks of completing the site visit, subject to our other workloads.
Once your application is approved, we will provide you with a quotation for undertaking the relocation work.
Our quotation will be valid for 30 days from the date of issue and makes suitable allowances for the following:
If you choose to proceed with the relocation:
The application fee will be deducted from our quotation. If you want to proceed with the works after the quotation has lapsed, you should contact our Customer Service Centre and they will check with us to see whether an updated quotation is required.
We will charge the applicant for all costs incurred.
The cost to relocate a street light within 3 meters of its existing location on the same side of the road, is typically between £1,400 and £2,500. However, this can vary depending on the height of the street light to be installed, the provision of a suitable lantern, the extent of the excavation and the charges from the third-party distribution network operator for the associated electrical works.
Once we have received your full payment in advance, we will order the works.
We rely on the third-party distribution network operator for the disconnection and re-connection to the electrical supply. The timescales for this can be uncertain — however we will aim to progress your street light relocation in approximately 16 weeks from receipt of your application to completion of the works on site.
We have prepared a list of typical issues that you need to consider before you apply.
If you answer Yes to any of the questions below, you should carefully consider whether it is worth applying.
If Yes, an application for vehicle access (dropped kerbs) will have to be made and approved before we can consider your application to relocate a street light.
If Yes, an application for vehicle access (dropped kerbs) will have to be made and approved before we can consider your application to relocate a street light.
If Yes, it is your responsibility to contact the utility company to determine whether any alterations to these services are required.
All additional costs relating to these works must be paid by you.
If Yes, it is your responsibility to contact us to determine whether any alterations to these services are required.
All additional costs relating to these works must be paid by you.
If Yes, additional design charges will apply to ensure compliance with current lighting standards and we will include those in your quotation.
If Yes, the presence of overhead lines is likely to reduce the relocation options.
If Yes, your application is unlikely to be approved.
If the trees are in the highway, however, we will include charges for cutting back branches or large bushes in your quotation.
Branches from trees or large bushes may reduce the relocation options.
If Yes, it may not be possible to relocate the street light.
You should expect to hear back within 10 working days after we receive your application.
You will need to provide:
At the end of the online application, you will be asked for your payment details for the £200 non-refundable application fee.
Apply online to relocate a street light
We recommend that you apply online. If you're unable to apply online, you can submit your application by post. You can print the application form below:
You should return the form, along with a cheque made payable to Leicestershire County Council for the £200 non-refundable application fee, to:
Customer Service Centre
Highways and Street Lighting
Leicestershire County Council
County Hall
Glenfield
Leicester
LE3 8ST
If you wish to appeal, you will need to contact us in writing at the postal address above or by filling in our Customer Services online contact form, stating the grounds for your appeal.
