New lighting brings bright future

Thousands of street lighting columns are to be replaced

Three-quarters of the street light columns in a part of Teesside are to be replaced in a massive £46m project.

Redcar and Cleveland Council is to replace more than 15,000 columns, or 85% of the existing stock, and add another 3,457 over the next five years.

Much of the council's lighting stock is now more than 25 years old, and would fail to meet European standards.

The government is providing £21m, backed up by a £1m-a-year maintenance budget from the council.

New columns

Councillor Eric Empson, cabinet member for strategic planning, said: "We also know the importance the public places on street lighting, with its rating as the third most important service, behind waste collection/recycling and street cleaning.

"What the public may not realise, but we have acknowledged for some time, is that the majority of our lighting stock doesn't meet the European standards and thousands have now passed their 25-year life expectancy.

"We've even discovered that the space between them is too much - that's why we're not only embarking on a replacement programme, but also putting in thousands of new columns."

The council is expecting to be award a contract within a few weeks, and work should begin in September after discussions with police and local residents to determine priority areas.