Stoke To Spend £7.8m On LED Lights

Stoke-on-Trent will be lit with new LED light panels once the £7.8 million project gets underway.

The city council has confirmed it will replace almost 30,000 street lights around the Potteries area, which it believes will reduce the amount of energy used and save the local authority money, according to the Stoke Sentinel.

It anticipates a saving of £918,249 per year, while a computer management system (CMSL) will also be put in place to help control the lights remotely, so they are not turned on unnecessarily.

Councillor Jack Brereton, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “As well as saving nearly £1 million a year, the LED lights will also reduce the carbon impact, meaning they will be more environmentally friendly.”

He noted the CMS will enable the local authority to turn the lights on and off electronically, for example if an incident occurred that required police officers to have greater visibility.

These will not be the first LED lights to be installed in Stoke, as seven streets in the city saw their old lamps replaced last year to trial the technology.

The 23 lamps have approved by nearby residents, with one telling the newspaper that they “seem a bit brighter than the old ones”.

Cardiff Council is also planning to install 13,608 LED lights on its main bus routes and highways. This project will cost £4.4 million, but the local authority believes it will save £800,000 a year by reducing energy use.