A new street lighting policy has been agreed to help improve community safety, boost energy efficiency, and reduce light pollution.
Prior to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in 2023, the former district councils had developed different ways to manage street lights that they owned.
This involved a complex system where the ownership, management and maintenance of some of the street lights in an area had been taken on by parish or town councils, while others were still owned and looked after by the district councils.
The new policy approved by Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet last week (18 March), looks to harmonise street light maintenance arrangements to ensure a more consistent approach to managing the 19,450 street lights in Westmorland and Furness.
The plan is for all council-owned street lights to be brought onto one management system, enabling lighting levels to be altered at the click of a button and customised based on community need. Maintenance capabilities will also be improved through automatic alerts notifying engineers of faults and the ability to better manage energy usage.
In the areas of Eden and South Lakeland, town and parish councils are responsible for the maintenance of 790 lighting columns. Under the new policy, these town and parish councils will be offered the opportunity to transfer these maintenance responsibilities and associated costs to Westmorland and Furness Council, easing the financial burden and pressures of looking after the lights.
This approach has been developed in close consultation with parish and town councils and has been supported as a way to bring clarity and consistency to street lighting management.
It is also recognised that street lighting accounts for a significant amount of electrical energy usage.
Wherever feasible, under the new policy lights will be upgraded to the latest LED technology, to reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and light pollution.
Where lighting has been removed or disconnected due to legacy lighting policies in the former district council areas, requests for lighting to be reinstated will be considered based on new criteria.
The policy aims to ensure consistent and efficient lighting across the whole of Westmorland and Furness, whilst simplifying the approach for residents to report any issues.
The approach will enhance the after-dark safety of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, while reducing the risk of accidents and crime.
Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, Cllr Peter Thornton, Cabinet Member for Highways and ICT said: “Each former district council had a unique way of managing street lighting.
“To move forward, we must harmonise and modernise the various lighting systems which go back many years. Our policy will bring an end to the inefficiency of street lighting management, making it easier for our residents to understand who is responsible for lighting the streets.
“This policy proposes that Westmorland and Furness Council is the primary lighting authority and offers to adopt all of the stock owned by local councils and the costs that come with maintaining them.
“Our approach will take our area into a new world of low energy lighting which is carefully targeted to avoid light pollution. By digitally controlling our streetlights, we can produce the light we want, when we want it to reduce consumption and ensure we are getting the most of every pound that we spend.
“Through continued investment in LED lighting alongside the development of our policy and collaboration with communities, this will also support improvements in safety and reduce crime. This is a major step forward as we seek to maximise the benefits of being a unitary council.”
Supporting the approach, Cllr Andrew Jarvis, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets added: “It removes the complexity of charging arrangements, the questions and the uncertainties for town and parish councils, and ultimately reduces costs for the tax payer.
“This is a good outcome from something that has been a subject of much discussion with parishes and has been a thorny issue for them for many years.’’
Cllr Janet Battye, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education and Skills said: “The policy underlines the importance of our relationship with our town and parish councils and working with them.
“We are not forcing them to hand anything over or do anything, this proposal is a result of listening to them, working with them and responding to what they have been telling us they want.’’
As a new authority, Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to improving and harmonising many of its services, to ultimately ensure that services are all delivered in the same way, and to the same consistent standard, across the whole of the new authority area.
There is an ongoing annual programme to deliver column replacements for life-expired street lighting columns and to extend levels of environmentally friendly lighting but also focusing on continually lowering energy usage. Also having an on-going programme to replace and decommission Illuminated bollards with reflective self-righting traffic bollards.