Solar street lights helping save money and keeping residents safe

Councillors have come up with a bright idea to improve safety in their ward - by funding solar street lights.

Stanley ward councillors Jason Roberts and Graham Baker have funded the scheme using £17,000 from their ward budget in a move which will also cut the cost of running the lights. 

Five solar-powered street lights have been installed at Holgate Green in South Shore, allowing pedestrians safe access at night from a number of surrounding roads including Lowfield Road, Sedgefield Close and Rona Avenue. The lights have been installed by Solar Vision, a Coventry-based specialist in Solar Lighting technologies.   The total cost of street light electricity last year in Blackpool was £2.6m. 

Coun Roberts said:  "We responded to resident requests to light up an area that was once very poorly lit.  "With the council currently spending over £2m on street light electricity every year we wanted to prove that new technology could be used not only to bring lights to the area, but crucially reduce electricity costs and therefore reduce pressure on council tax bills." 

Coun Baker added:  "We are really proud that Stanley Ward is the first ward in Blackpool to have an avenue of solar street lights. 

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"It can be very worrying for some walking about in the dark hours, so we know this will help lots of local residents have a better quality of life and help the environment at the same time". 

The solar street lights have a 25-year life span and are programmed to dim after 11pm and then operate through a motion sensor which brings the lights back up to bright when they detect movement.