Issue - meetings

                   Report of the Service Director for Highways and Transport                                               

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, presented the report, which invited Cabinet to consider proposals to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the Council’s street lighting following the recent public consultation.

Councillor Nigel Carter presented the report of the rapid scrutiny exercise which had been undertaken on this report.  Copies of the Scrutiny report were made available.

In response to the scrutiny recommendation that option 4 (installation of LED lighting) should be considered alongside option 3, Councillor Tonge acknowledged that there were savings available through LEDs, however it was considered that the capital costs of installation would decrease further as the technology developed.  As such it was recommended that option 4 be reviewed in 12 months’ time.

Councillor Tonge added that as the proposals required capital funding, this bid would now progress through the Council’s capital bidding gateway process.

Resolved:

That energy savings should be obtained by a scheme to:

(i)         Introduce Part Night Lighting where feasible so that approximately half of the street lights are turned off between midnight and 5.30 a.m.

(ii)       Dim lighting levels at less busy times where appropriate and technically feasible.

(iii)      Use LED lighting or similar energy efficient lighting on new installations.

(iv)      Turn off street lighting where there are no significant pedestrian movements and it is not required for safety reasons.

(v)       Introduce a Street Lighting Management System to provide more responsive and flexible control over the operation of the Council’s street lights.

Reason for the decision

There is a need to reduce street lighting costs because of budget constraints and rising energy costs and carbon tax, and the need to meet the Council’s carbon reduction targets.

The assessment of options indicates that the best balance is a package of measures, including the conversion of about half the existing lights to operate for part of the night, and turning out some lights permanently, and dimming others at off peak periods.

The chosen option would have good economic returns and provide flexibility to adapt to future changes in energy costs and carbon tax.  It has been assessed with a 25 year business case model using a standard Net Present Value appraisal method (NPV). Three scenarios of energy cost increases have been modelled to allow for uncertainties about future energy costs, and overall the chosen option represents a good investment.