West Suffolk Council to spend £1m on upgrading street lights to LEDs
The cash would see around 1,500 lamps across the district get the LED upgrade
West Suffolk cabinet councillors have supported a £1m investment into replacing street lights with LED.
The investment, which the cabinet discussed and unanimously approved on September 19, will now be debated and decided by the council next Tuesday.
The ownership of street lights is surprisingly complicated with some of the owners at county, district, parish, and individual levels.
This proposal would see around 1,500 parish and town council-owner street lights converted into LED. In turn, the cabinet believes this could save over 80 tonnes of CO2 every year and have a positive effect on local councils’ financial balance.
Cllr Gerald Kelly, the portfolio holder for governance and regulatory, said this is a matter of going ‘for the low-hanging fruit’ and ensuring quick savings are made where possible.
He added: “There is a massive bill to get the lights upgraded and, once they do, parish councils can save a lot of money.
“This is an easy way of having a large reduction in the district’s use of energy.
“We’re not saying we’re taking them over, but we understand this is a problem that is beyond the purses of many parish councils.”
This move is not unprecedented, with an initial investment of £442,000 having been made by the previous Conservative administration.
Although the investment focused solely on street lights owned by West Suffolk Council, its savings exceed 80 tonnes of CO2 and £14,000 after borrowing costs.
Nevertheless, the new investment has come with some scepticism from the Conservatives.
Cllr Sarah Broughton, who was involved in the first decision, said it is not about supporting the move, but rather it’s timing.
She added: “It’s better for the environment and it will help some towns and parishes.
“But it is a lot of money to be putting into this during a cost of living crisis.”
Although many town and parish councils have already started to upgrade their lights, they can still apply for the grant, which will cover the cost of works and condition surveys, if the upgrade was carried out since April 1, 2022.