Kent County Council owns and maintains around 90 per cent of street lights across Kent. However, each district council also owns a small number of lights. Ashford Borough Council has around 1,200 street lights and is spending up to £1m upgrading to modern, energy efficient LED units before handing them over to KCC for future management and maintenance.
The work will be done in phases during 2020, with specialist lighting contractors Bouygues Energies & Services appointed to undertake the work across Ashford. When the project is completed, all the street lighting currently the responsibility of Ashford Borough Council will have been updated and handed over to KCC.
As a result of this investment, street lighting will be enhanced across the district and the future cost of maintaining the lights will be significantly reduced.
Cllr Paul Clokie, Ashford Borough Council portfolio holder for corporate property, said: “Ashford is the first district to commit to investing in upgrading the street lights we own before handing them over to KCC. We consider this to be a worthwhile investment in providing more modern LED lights which are cheaper to run, longer lasting and more energy efficient. It represents a good deal for local taxpayers.”
