Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Director of City Services.

The Board considered a briefing note and presentation from the Director of City Services that provided an update on the LED upgrading of PFI Streetlights – citywide.

Officers explained how inn January 2025 Council approved the upgrading of up to 29,500 streetlights to LED at a cost of £10.2m. The timeline presented in the report was:

The following delivery programme was agreed by ward:

The programme saw the inner urban wards upgraded first and because they had lower number of streetlights it allowed the upgrade of approximately 5 wards by the end of May 2026.

The rollout was based on reversing the order the part-night switch off was implemented but also taking into consideration maintenance schedules, mixture of traffic & residential routes and impact of weather. For example, Kenilworth Road that can only be done in the summer as the ground needs to be hard due to the wide grass verge, therefore this was brought forward to Summer 2026.

There were also several streets that were removed from the ward sequence due to planned scheme works. These streets were moved to the end of the programme to allow for changes in the highway to be accommodated.

The final number of streetlights being upgraded as part of the LED upgrade was 28,847. The remaining 653 (of the original 29,500) would be picked up as part of on-going scheme works.

* In St Michaels ward, the streetlights outside the ring road were be started in November. The streetlights inside the ring road were to stay on, a high proportion were already LED and the complexity of working inside the ring road means these were to be done through the first year of the upgrade.

Once the streetlights are upgraded to LED the proposal was that they were to operate on the following profiles:

·  Residential: On at 60% and dim to 30% at 10pm until switch-off

·  Traffic: On at 70%, dim to 50% at 10pm and dim further to 30% at 12am until switch-off

The dimming of the streetlights was to allow the Council to regain the £700k savings lost from reversing the part night switch off but still keeping the lights on overnight.

The reversal of the part night streetlight was to be achieved due to a decrease in the energy price from approx. 38p kwh down to 24p kwh. The decrease in energy price allowed the Council to still achieve the targeted financial savings whilst being able to switch the lights back on overnight.

The Council had negotiated that the maintenance savings; from not needing to change lamps in the LED streetlights for the remainder of the contract, was to be paid upfront which reduces the Council’s capital expenditure by £1.7m.

In considering the briefing note, the Board questioned officers, received responses, and discussed matters as summarised below:

-  The new lights should reduce light pollution and focus away from houses, if there are any specific issues shields can be installed.

-  That the pre upgrade LED lights are the same brightness as they were pre turn off.

-  That the PFO contract will end in 2035 ad 7 years prior to that the council will begin considering how to proceed and if to bring the contract in house.

-  The contract has a 20-year warranty, but the LED bulbs will last significantly longer than that.

-  The ward order for rollout was based partly on logistical issues such footpaths, existing infrastructure and traffic slowing rollout and partly based on reverse order of installation.

-  Serious plans and discussions have not begun on the costs and implications of bringing the contract in house as this is slated to be done at a later date.

-  The lampposts themselves are covered with a protective plastic coating covering galvanized steel, these will last 40-50 years, as the PFI will last 25 years the lampposts will last at least 15 years after that.

-  That work is slated to begin next month, the council is on track to meet its deadlines, although the monthly estimates may increase/decrease once installation has begun.

-  That the council has secured fixed rates for its energy costs and this will stand for 18 months, following that officers are confident they can keep the same rates.

-  Whole streets are to be done in one go even if they cross ward boundaries.

-  Rollout is based on current ward boundaries regardless of future changes.

Members also requested that information be circulated outlining the difference in cost of PFIs compared to the council borrowing the money.

The Education and Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) Resolved to note the contents of the briefing note and report and had no further recommendations for the Cabinet Member.