5,000 more LED streetlights to be installed across Essex by the end of August

Essex Highways remains on track to install an additional 5,000 LED streetlights across the county by the end of the month.

Essex Highways’ LED rollout is well underway with 800 old streetlights currently being replaced across Essex each week.

The move to LED will bring benefits for residents and the environment as the lights are more efficient, saving on average around 60% energy usage and thousands of tons of carbon emissions involved in generating electricity.

The lights also contain negligible toxic materials and are expected to last 20 years, whereas half of all sodium lamps fail after five years and must be replaced.

Replacing the current lights with LEDs will mean a better service and more effective use of taxpayer’s money. After 25 years it is estimated the net savings for ECC will be around £39 million.

Over 5,000 replacements will be made by the end of the month and Essex Highways plan to complete 25,000 by Christmas.

The LEDs will be installed area by area until completion in 2024. Work began in May this year in Chelmsford and Basildon with plans to move on to Colchester and Tendring soon.

Councillor Lee Scott, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport, said: “I am so pleased that we’re pressing ahead with the LED rollout. Not only are LEDs more environmentally friendly and efficient, but they will also make our streetlights more effective and reduce the number of repairs we’ll need to do.

“I would like to offer my thanks to the crews working at pace to install them and ensuring we remain on track to meet our targets.”

This three-year rollout is the final phase of Essex Highways’ LED replacement scheme, with 82,000 lights to be replaced in total on residential roads across Essex.

Find out more about our LED replacement programme