Measures to conserve energy by switching off street lights between midnight and 5am have reduced South Gloucestershire Council’s annual carbon emissions by 12 per cent and are already saving approximately £90,000 in energy costs each year.
About 6,000 of the district’s 29,500 street lights have been switched to ‘part night’ operation since the scheme was adopted by the council in 2008.
By the time the scheme is fully implemented in October this year, about 60 per cent of the district’s street lights, or approximately 20,000 lights, will have been switched to part night operation.
Once fully implemented, the scheme is expected to reduce the district’s carbon emissions by a total of 2,000 tonnes a year – equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 900 cars.
It is also expected to reduce the council’s lighting-related energy bills by up to £250,000, or about a fifth of its total street lighting energy costs.
Head of StreetCare Mark King said:
“Part-night lighting has been introduced gradually and with great care since the policy was first adopted with cross-party support in 2008.
“The safety and security of residents and road users is paramount and over a number of years we ran trials to make sure that the scheme would deliver the expected benefits without any adverse effects.
“The results to date show that part night lighting is working well in South Gloucestershire and we look forward to completing implementation of the scheme later this year.”
Before implementation all lights are assessed to establish whether they are suitable for part-night operation. About 40 per cent of lights, including those near roundabouts, emergency services, sheltered housing and known areas of high crime, are automatically excluded from the scheme for safety or security reasons.
After implementation the council continues to work with the police and other agencies to monitor the operation of the scheme within each area.
The scheme is being implemented on a rolling basis across all remaining areas of South Gloucestershire, with a scheduled works completion date of October 2013. Full details of the scheme, including area-by-area implementation dates, are available at www.southglos.gov.uk/partnightlighting.
Photo: Streetlights in Bradley Stoke (©Bradley Stoke Journal)
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
