Council prepares to agree £1m street lights contract

A CONTRACT worth more than £1m to maintain Halton’s street lights over the next year is due to be signed off.

Halton Council’s executive board has been advised to agree an extension for a maintenance contract to start in November.

A report said that the council made an agreement with Tarmac in 2010. It was initially for five years and covered maining all highway electrical equipment in Runcorn and Widnes.

The equipment covered in the agreement includes more than 20,000 conventional lighting columns, 18 zebra crossings, 450 illuminated bollards, 1,400 illuminated traffic signs, and 98 high mast lighting columns.

The report added that the ‘normal expenditure’ covered by the contract is around £500,000 annually, but with funding secured to install LED lanterns, work is expected to increase and push up the cost to more than £1m over the next year.

The report said: “In the longer term, as a result of installing LED lanterns, there will be a reduction in street lighting maintenance costs.

“Street lighting can contribute to road safety and a reduction in accidents. It can also help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour which affects how safe people feel during the hours of darkness.

“Street lighting is not a statutory function and there is no legal requirement for roads to be lit, but once it is installed it must be maintained.”

The issue will be discussed at a meeting at the Municipal Building in Widnes today (Thursday, September 15).