Modern new street lamps in Barnsley could slash council’s electricity bills

Two jobs could go in the authority’s highways department because it is anticipated each lamp post will need to be visited only four times during its working life.

The council has already replaced around 19,000 lights on side roads with LED units and over 14 months it has been calculated that has led to a reduction of £376,000 in electricity consumption.

Now councillors on the ruling Cabinet are being asked to approve a plan which would see major roads get the same treatment, with work planned for the forthcoming financial year, possibly spilling into 2020/21.

It would also answer a growing problem of the existing sodium bulb lamps becoming obsolete as manufacturers switch to LED production.

That will ultimately make replacements parts both harder to source and more expensive to buy, a report states.

It is also anticipated the upgrade would have long-term maintenance benefits, with a report to the Cabinet stating: “A reduction in whole-life maintenance costs of materials will be realised with 100,000 hours life and ten year warranty with zero lamps and gear to purchase. This will mean that there is less need to carry stocks of multiple lamps, control gear and lanterns.”