Telford & Wrekin Ranked First for lighting in national survey
As the clocks go back for another winter, we shine a light on the officers who look after our street lights and help us feel safer at night.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s lighting team have installed some 52 new lights in the past 12 months all helping to improve safety for drivers, riders, and pedestrians, supporting accident prevention and the reduction of crime.
In addition, we have replaced 8km of lighting cable along the A442, conducted 4,500 structural tests on lighting columns and carried out 597 fault repairs since January with a turnaround time of around two days with more than £20m invested in improving, repairing and making safer roads and streets across Telford and Wrekin.
Telford & Wrekin Council have also been ranked first in the National Highways and Transport survey for satisfaction with street lighting for 2022.*
The council has two dedicated officers that cover the whole lighting network of around 24,400 lights with older lighting columns and repairs continually being added to the register with support from contractor Prysmian.
Demand for new lights is continuous and work includes replacing now obsolete concrete columns with new steel structures and over the last five years 95 per cent of street lights have been converted to LEDs, reducing CO2 output by 80 per cent and generating annual savings in the region of £420,000.
LEDs reduce energy consumption by 53 per cent over the last five years. Councillor Lee Carter (Labour), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Regeneration and the High Street said: “Given our limited budget, the lighting team do a fantastic job with contractor Prysmian, don’t forget you can report any faults through the MyTelford app as we rely on the public to help us ensure the lights are working across the network.
“There have been great advances in technology since the town was built but we have made sure that almost every Telford & Wrekin Council-owned street light was upgraded by the end of 2018.
“Older and damaged lights are always cropping up that need replacing and as we work so closely with residents, they help us identify new areas which are completed as soon as possible.”
This also includes installing energy efficient road signs, a programme of road lining improvement, additional investment into repairing local roads and footpaths and lots of environmental maintenance improvements.
If you know about any street lights or illuminated bollards or road signs that are not working, please use the MyTelford app to report it or if you have concerns over an area that does not have sufficient street lighting, contact the Safer & Stronger Communities team by emailing saferstronger@Telford.gov.uk
*www.nhtnetwork.org
