Workers have completed their first street in a five-year project to replace all 14,000 street lamps in the Borough with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) street lighting.

They have replaced all 63 lamps in Fossetts Way with the new units and will move on to Eastern Avenue. They will then concentrate on Royal Artillery Way and other main routes within the Borough.

The installation follows a trial of several different LED street lighting systems in different neighbourhoods across the Borough. Each of these was assessed for their performance and feedback from local residents was considered as part of the selection process.

Councillor Martin Terry, Executive Councillor for Public Protection, Waste & Transport, this week went to Fossetts Way to check out the new lamps first-hand. He said: “The new lamps are looking really smart and the lighting installers have got off to a great start.

“Investing in these lights will cut 50% off our energy bill for illuminated street furniture over a five-year period, improve the quality of the lighting, help keep road users, drivers and pedestrians alike, safe, secure and visible at night whilst substantially reducing our carbon emissions.

“What’s more, the feedback we’ve received from the residents of the streets, where our chosen lamp units were trialled, was extremely positive, with residents praising the much cleaner, more targeted light.

“Like other authorities across the country, we’re facing some major pressure over reducing our costs. We were determined not to go down the route of turning lights off but instead find a solution that serves us well in the long term.

“We believe that the project will bring substantial savings in energy and maintenance costs for the Council.”

LED lighting facts • LED lamps use around half the energy of traditional street lights, which is good for the environment • The light is whiter and brighter than traditional street lights. This promotes public safety by improving the quality of CCTV camera images, making car registration plates easier to read and colours easier to discern.

• The light is more targeted, so that it does not spill into nearby properties to the same extent and reduces light pollution.

• The lamps last approximately 20 years on average, whereas traditional lamps last only three, greatly reducing maintenance costs.