We are responsible for maintaining and repairing street lights, lit signs and bollards.
We've ended the temporary measure of switching-off part-night street lighting an hour earlier at 11pm. The temporary, earlier switching-off of lights started when the government introduced measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19 by closing hospitality and leisure facilities, as well as community-based events which greatly reduced night-time activity.
The council has reverted to the previous arrangements of switching off all part-night lighting at 12 midnight (the initiative is estimated to have saved 18,300 kWh of energy and 4.7 tonnes of carbon emissions).
This arrangement has been put in place following a review of the council’s position on part-night lighting (it has worked closely with the police throughout the project) and when specific issues are raised in an area. We do review our approach.
The county council implemented a scheme of part-night lighting, dimming and switch-off in 2010 to reduce carbon emissions and to save energy and money. This is a countywide scheme, using a risk-based approach, with approximately 38,600 street lights switched off between midnight until 5.30am. Most junctions, CCTV areas and traffic calmed routes remain lit all night. Between 2012/13 and 2019/20, annual carbon emissions from street lighting fell from 14,572 tonnes to 2,536 tonnes.
We're also having to adapt our business processes for the foreseeable future, this means we're currently only able to undertake repairs to existing street lights, lit signs and bollards (until normal service resumes).
Please report any issues via our online reporting service.
Our provision of services will be reviewed on a regular basis and may change with immediate effect, dependent on resource availability and national guidance.
We have invested in a central management system that automatically informs us of faults with street lights that have been converted to LED, such as:
We aim to repair street light problem within 5 days, but it can take longer where specialised traffic management is needed.
Sometimes the fault will be with the electricity supply, in these cases we notify Western Power Distribution and the repair can take up to 4 weeks.
If the fault relates to one of the issues mentioned above, please allow 5 days before you report it. If you see a problem with an illuminated sign or a street light that has had a fault for more than 5 days you can report it to us.
Use the online form to report problems with street lights, including:
If it is an emergency and relating to a road traffic incident, please call the police.
If you are reporting an incident that could cause serious harm or poses an imminent risk to health and safety, outside the hours of 8:30am-4:30pm Monday to Friday, including Bank Holidays, please call 07860 569137 - this mobile number is not available during office hours.
We use part night lighting, where some lights are switched off between midnight and 5.30am. This helps reduce energy costs, carbon emissions and light pollution. Regular reviews with police have shown that, as a whole, part night lighting has not increased crime or road traffic collisions.
