Streetlighting Repairs

8.30.00pm GMT Sat 7th Nov 2009

Unlit lamps have overtaken potholes as the major reason for complaints

Surrey Highways are currently not repairing street lights except in the most urgent cases. A new PFI street lighting contract is expected to start early next year, which will involve replacing 80% of the existing lamp columns, so they are not spending money on repairing columns that will be replaced.

Damaged street lighting columns, regulatory signs and bollards are still being dealt with, though sometimes just by disconnecting the power and chopping off the damaged part. Routine replacement of bulbs is also still continuing.

Other works such as lantern replacements and straightening street lights that are leaning are being treated as low priority and not carried out except in busy roads where there is a risk of road traffic collisions and in locations identified by the Police as "high crime areas".

The Police are asking the public NOT to contact them, as it wastes their time. Assessment is carried out automatically.

The new lights are expected to be more effective and cheaper to run. They are supposed to reduce "light pollution" and it should be possible to dim them late at night. Above all they should register automatically in the control room when they need repair.

Installation is intended to be spread over a period of 5 years. However the backlog of street lights needing repair should be dealt with first, so provided there is no hold-up in signing the new contract, we should see improvements before the autumn of 2010.