£7m upgrade for street lighting

by Lisa Reeves

Thursday 16^th April 2015

Thu 16^th Apr 2015

Funding has been secured for major improvements to the Borough's street lights.

More than £7m will be invested during 2015 and 2016 to upgrade over 11,000 street lights using the latest light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Nearly 2,500 columns that have reached the end of their serviceable life will also be replaced,

The money is coming from Salix Finance, which works with public sector organisations to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions. Salix provides interest-free loans with repayments covered from the energy savings achieved by the project.

Paul Traynor, strategic commissioning manager for highways at Cheshire East Council, said: "The Council has a duty to look at all options to reduce its carbon emissions and to tackle increasing energy costs.

"Upgrading existing lanterns to LED will not only reduce our carbon emissions but will also deliver a better quality of light for residents, cut ongoing maintenance costs and significantly reduce our energy bills."

Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Karen Robinson

Thursday 16^th April 2015 at 3:01 pm

Question. What makes a lamp post reach the end of its serviceable life? Concrete ones??

Jon Williams

Thursday 16^th April 2015 at 5:16 pm

Get the roads in order first !

Craig Wilson

Thursday 16^th April 2015 at 8:27 pm

Hopefully Davie Lane (and the council estate) will get done, the lighting is terrible.

Jon Williams

Thursday 16^th April 2015 at 8:55 pm

There is no Council Estate in Alderley Edge Craig Wilson

Dina Robinson

Saturday 18^th April 2015 at 7:06 am

There is s council estate in Alderley Edge!

Jon Williams

Saturday 18^th April 2015 at 9:44 am

"There is s council estate in Alderley Edge! "
Location ?

Craig Wilson

Saturday 18^th April 2015 at 11:20 am

I must be imagining that I live in a x council house then.......the estate is at the end of Davie Lane, it's like a whole new world ;-)

Jon Williams

Saturday 18^th April 2015 at 12:12 pm

The "estate" you are referring to WAS a Council Estate and with the exception of the flats, most homes a now privately owned, the rest (inc. most of the flats are owned by Peaks & Plains Housing Trust and was created in 2006 following a transfer from Macclesfield Borough Council.

Craig Wilson

Saturday 18^th April 2015 at 9:39 pm

Jon, from now on I'll refer to 'the council estate' as the 'x council estate', that should double their value ;-)

Dina Robinson

Sunday 19^th April 2015 at 8:49 am

I stand corrected Jon. I assumed that you were unaware of the existence of the Bollinfields estate tucked away down Davey Lane. I was born in one of the council houses nearly 58 years ago( soon to become an ex council house when my parents bought it from the Borough Council.) When I married I got my very own council house but of course like most, as you quite rightly say, it is now an ex council house. Over the passage of time I had forgotten that the few remaining "council" houses are now owned by Peaks and Plains.
As an estate though I do feel that we tend to get forgotten or missed out when it comes to things such as street lighting as Craig mentions. Although of course we do have a lovely tree on Wood Gardens at Christmas. I assume it is for the benefit of the residents or could it be for the motorists who use our estate as a "rat run" through to Wilmslow Road via the "car park" which is the railway bridge marked with double yellow lines where cars are allowed to park unpunished. Whether their engines are running or not they are a danger to pedestrians and cause daily hold ups.

This is not a new problem. Cars used to be driven over the bridge on the wrong side of the road on the pavement to avoid parked cars which is why the stumps were erected after several "stand offs" between pedestrians and motorists, myself included on one occasion.

Jon Williams

Sunday 19^th April 2015 at 10:59 am

Thanks Dina,
I am very aware of this lovely estate as I live on it myself and have had my garden wall knocked down by a car (but he was drunk !), I was just being politically correct as they say, yes Davey Lane is becoming a very dangerous road and it worse at school times, parents of AESG being the worst.

Pete Taylor

Monday 20^th April 2015 at 2:49 pm

Having borrowed money to replace the street lighting, will CEC then turn the lights off to save money?
http://bit.ly/1DDw2Fy

The £7m refers to the whole of Cheshire East, not just Alderley.