A £2million cash injection from the Conservative-led administration will fund a programme of renewal and replacement for York’s aging streetlights, replacing old lights with modern LED technology which will save money, help reduce carbon output and improve night time visibility.
The City of York council has an obligation to maintain over 21,000 streetlights, including 5,500 concrete columns, but many of these lights were installed decades ago. Previous schemes have replaced many of the columns and streetlights, but due to underfunding by the previous Labour administration, much more needed to be done.
Approval was given in February to invest this further £2million of council capital funding to a new four year programme of works, which are now set to get underway and which will include maintenance checks, the installation of 2,000 columns and the replacement of old sodium lights with more ‘white light’ LED technology.
Cllr. Tony Richardson, Conservative spokesperson for the environment said “The Conservative-led administration is yet again demonstrating its commitment to front-line services by funding this extensive programme. The LED lights previously installed have shown that they use approximately half the amount of energy usage per light, making significant carbon and energy savings. This has helped the council save around 1,000 tonnes of carbon a year, and the new lights will save us about £30 per year for each new lantern. The white light also provides better visibility for both drivers and pedestrians. This is a win all around, but it was up to the administration to commit to this programme and for an administration with different priorities this kind of basic project could have been overlooked. The Conservatives promised residents we would do more to improve facilities in York for all residents and we continue to work hard to do so.”