LED lights lead the way for council savings

Bruce Sinclair Local Democracy Reporter

Part-night and LED street lighting changes that started more than a decade ago are saving a Welsh council some £1.5m a year, committee members heard.

A report for members Pembrokeshire County Council’s Policy and Pre-Decision Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting of November 18, presented by Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said, since 2009, the authority has implemented a system of part-night street lighting, which enables all lighting in non-core areas extinguished between midnight and 5.30am.

This was followed in 2016 by the street lighting in core dusk-dawn areas being replaced with low-energy LED units, fitted with programmable photocells which enable dimming during quieter times.

Since 2021 the remaining part-night lanterns have all been bulk-converted to LED.

It added: “As part of the savings identified in the 2024/25 council budget, in 2024 the remaining 186 streetlights that had historically been installed in areas that do not comply with the policy criteria were finally decommissioned.

“During this work the street lighting team received requests for lighting to be reinstated in 11 locations. These locations were reinvestigated, and none were found to satisfy the policy criteria for lighting, and have therefore not been restored.”

In response to a perception the removal of lighting may lead to an increase in rural crime, the views of the local Rural Policing team were sought, the report said, the responses being: “I can present no evidence to suggest that areas where street lighting is not present has an increased chance of there being a crime within that area, compared to areas where there is street lighting.

“However, the use of lighting to act as a deterrent to crime needs to be considered and thought through but is more than just simply the use of street lighting.”

The report said the numbers of street-lighting lanterns managed by the council has not altered significantly over the last decade, with some 15,500 lanterns, but the changes and energy saving measures “has resulted in significant savings of circa £1.5m per annum to the authority surrounding the provision of this service”.

Cllr Mike John, who had previously raised concerns about the loss of rural street lighting at Cabinet, expressed his disappointment the policy report was purely for noting, calling for a review of the whole policy.

Cllr Sinnett responded saying said there were “no issues” with a further look at the criteria, giving his assurances councillors would be able to review the situation, but felt there was a need “to do it with a sense of realism,” the costs balanced against any concerns.

Members backed the recommendation the report be noted.