CDW/12/12 Place Scrutiny Committee 12 June 2012 Street Lighting: Update Report of the Head of Capital Development and Waste Management 1. Summary This report provides an update on street lighting, including information on the lighting stock, the current street lighting policy, progress on delivery of the policy on part night lighting, an overview of technology developments and the forward priorities for street lighting. 2. Information on the Devon Street Lighting Stock In Devon, there are over 76,000 street lighting units 12,000 illuminated traffic signs, beacons and illuminated bollards. The revenue budget in 2012/13 for maintaining and operating the street lighting stock is £4.767M, of which £3.4m is for energy costs. Street lighting accounts for 23.8% of the County Council’s carbon footprint (ref: Cabinet Report EE/11/12). 3. Current DCC Street Lighting Policy The current DCC street lighting policy was approved in July 2007 (ref: EEC/07/216/HQ) (and is summarised on the DCC Website as shown in Appendix I) and the decision to implement part night lighting in residential areas was approved in January 2009 (ref: EEC/09/8/HQ). The street lighting policy included a number of measures to reduce the energy consumption of the street lighting stock and, as a consequence to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions from street lighting. The approved policy for the introduction of part night lighting in residential areas means some street lights that were previously on all-night long will now be lit between dusk and about 12:30am and will then be switched off until about 5:30am, they will then be lit from about 5:30am until dawn. The policy allows for some lights in residential areas to remain lit all night, for example on main routes through communities, at busy junctions, in areas of high night time activity, in areas of CCTV surveillance and where there is evidence of a need, which is supported by objective data. In developing a scheme for a community there is consultation with the Police and the Local County Councillor. The views of the community are fed in through the involvement of Parish and Town Councils. The policy also allows for night dimming, where the intensity of lighting is reduced during the less busy night time period, where it is safe to do so. The above initiatives are supported by a policy of replacing dilapidated equipment with new energy efficient alternatives. The use of some new technology is however not economic at the current time, for example the wholesale use of LED street lighting units. (LEDs are however, used in Traffic Signals). New developments that include street lighting are required to provide low energy equipment and to operate on a part night basis where appropriate. 4. Progress to date on Part Night Lighting The energy used by street lighting produces an estimated 20,000 tonnes of CO 2 every year and the current street lighting energy saving programme will cut this by an estimated 4,000 tonnes a year. The approach to implementing part night lighting in a community has involved consultation with the Devon and Cornwall Police, local parish and town councils and local members. This has ensured that considerations of crime, disorder and road safety in residential areas are taken into account and evidenced during the decision-making process. A list of communities where part night lighting operation has been introduced is presented in Appendix II and progress to date in terms of lights converted is shown in Appendix III. Since January 2010, some 30,000 instructions have been issued to convert lighting across Devon from all-night to part night operation; of these over 28,000 have been completed. As a result of these conversions electrical consumption dropped in 2010/11 from just over 37,000,000 kWh to an estimated 34,000,000 kWh at the end of 20011/12. This reduction of approximately 3,000,000 kWh equates to a cost saving of £315,000 per year at current energy costs. In addition to the power reduction and consequent cost saving, carbon emissions have reduced by about 1,600 tonnes. The street lighting carbon reduction programme is on target to deliver annual savings of 4,000 tonnes of carbon a year. The introduction of the part night policy, at a time of economic uncertainty for many, raised a number of concerns in respect of fear of crime and increases in crime and accidents. While the actual switching off of lights has worried some people and there have been some isolated incidents of crime, the feared increases have not materialised and in some instances the police have reported that crime rates have fallen. The County Council has worked closely with police to ensure that where necessary and based on objective evidence part night lighting in residential areas has been restored to all-night operation following a review of local circumstances. To date implementation of part night lighting has been achieved by fitting revised photocells onto existing lighting columns. This has the advantage of being a cost effective way of achieving the policy objective of cost and carbon reduction. 5. Technology Overview Central Management Systems for street lighting offer an alternative to the current arrangements for management of the lighting stock and implementation of part night lighting and night dimming. The systems provide a more flexible solution, via a web based interface, to reduce lighting intensities incrementally and implement and adjust part night lighting and night dimming schemes. This can all be done from a central location, thus removing the need for site visits to adjust and change the lighting regime at individual columns. The solution also gives warning of faults and gives notification of lighting failures. It removes the need for night scouting, as the system detects and alerts the street lighting team to lamp failures. Some preliminary work has been carried out on available systems for the central management of street lighting. This has established that there is competition in the market. It has also determined that the initial up front investment in the systems would be paid back in a reasonable period due to the savings in energy and operational cost that can be achieved. Cabinet accepted a recommendation to procure a remote monitoring system to initially cover the Exeter Urban area, on 17 April 2012. Low Energy Lamps and Switchgear The conversion of existing lighting to more energy-efficient types has been taking place for a number of years by utilising lower wattage lamps which maintain an adequate level of lighting and modern electronic switching gear. Low energy LED lighting technology has made inroads into the street lighting market and LED units can be found on a number of new housing development sites. This technology is continually developing but still costs significantly more than the traditional lighting operating across Devon. Use of this technology will increase over time, as technical issues are resolved and products become more affordable. Street Lighting Columns A programme of column replacement is carried out annually for those units that have been identified as being in very poor structural condition. This remains an issue as columns remain in service beyond their prescribed design life. 6. Public Health Impact Following the introduction of the part night lighting policy, a large number and wide range of communities in Devon has been converted to the part night regime. Based on experience with the schemes, there are no known public health impacts. However, we will continue to consult on new schemes in order to identify any potential impacts on public health and to monitor schemes to ensure they perform adequately. 7. Priorities Going Forward The introduction of cost effective low energy equipment remains a priority. This has the benefit of reducing both energy costs and carbon emissions. The current street lighting contract ends on 31 March 2013, having been extended in accordance with the current contract options. A new contract is being drawn up so that a new arrangement can be put in place that will provide a value for money contracted street lighting maintenance service. David Whitton Head of Capital Development and Waste Management Electoral Divisions: All Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation: Councillor Stuart Hughes Cabinet Member for Environment and Community: Councillor Roger Croad Strategic Director, Place: Heather Barnes Local Government Act 1972: List of Background Papers Contact for enquiries: David Whitton Room No. Matford Offices, County Hall, Exeter. EX2 4QD Tel No: (01392) 382701 Background Paper Date File Reference 1. Nil dw210512psc Street Lighting Update hk 06 300512 Appendix I To CDW/12/12 Street Lighting Policy 1. Introduction 1.1 There is no statutory duty to provide street lighting but where the Authority has provided street lighting there is a duty to maintain. 1.2 The majority of traffic signs require illumination in locations where street lighting is present. 1.3 The general policy provisions are contained in the Street Lighting Policy document. 2. Street Lighting Policy The County Council as the Highway Authority has no statutory obligation to provide street lighting and the County Council’s approach to lighting provision is as follows. There will be two options for street lighting across the county, depending on the location: • Part night lighting in residential areas. Meaning that the hours that streetlights are on will be between dusk and 12:30am and again from 5:30am until dawn. Exceptions will apply where there are overriding safety issues. • All night and late night dimming lighting on main roads and areas of high night-time activity, such as town centres. Street lights will remain lit all night, but consideration will be given to dimming lighting where possible.