The Cabinet of Bridgend County Borough Council has agreed to launch a scheme to cut down on the amount of energy that is consumed by street lighting.
Under the scheme, a rolling programme of maintenance and investment will see every other street light in most parts of the county borough switched off between midnight and 5.30am – a process known as part-night burning.
Strict criteria will determine which street lights are to be converted to part-night burning and to ensure that there is no detrimental effect on highway or community safety.
Certain locations such as busy junctions, pedestrian and rail level crossings, places where CCTV coverage is required, accident hot spots and areas where there are high numbers of late-night pedestrians will remain fully illuminated.
The initiative follows a series of trials involving the part-night burning and dimming of street lights that have been carried out in areas such as Cefn Glas, Llangewydd, Bryntirion, Coychurch and Bridgend Industrial Estate.
The trials were carefully monitored, but there were no complaints or adverse comments received from the public, town and community councils or the emergency services. There was also no negative impact on road, pedestrian or community safety and crime.
The initiative is expected to result in an annual reduction of 440 tonnes of carbon and save more than £140,000 in energy costs every year.
Cabinet Member for Communities, Councillor John Spanswick, said: “Street lighting is regarded as contributing greatly towards road safety and community security, and the technology is now so advanced that more energy-efficient options are available including light-emitting diodes, dimmer controls and part-night burning units.
“We have almost 20,000 lighting units and illuminated traffic signs and signals in Bridgend County Borough, and the energy bill for keeping them all running last year was £826,000 – an average increase of 27 per cent over the last five years or so.
“Given the success of the trials, this initiative will allow us to save money in the face of rising energy costs, reduce our carbon footprint and maintain high levels of community and highway safety.”
