All street lights are kept on all night and are controlled by a photo electric control unit, which responds to the changes in light levels. Operational hours are between dusk and dawn, i.e. half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise.
We currently change and clean all lamps every 3 or 4 years, depending on the lamp type's expected life, because this is more economical than waiting for individual random failures.
Street lighting is inspected and electrically tested every 6 years to make sure that they comply with regulations and to check the electrical safety of the system.
There is a small budget to undertake a programme of testing the structural integrity of steel columns. This also assists in prioritising our replacements. Some newly fitted columns have a 70-100 year life expectancy.
We are active in seeking other sources of finance to improve the standard of street lighting within the Borough, particularly through the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB6), Coalfield Challenge and European Funding.
SRB6 has recently enabled Worsley Mesnes and Norley to have many more new street lighting columns installed than would normally have been possible. Wigan Borough's first "Street Scene Action Area" was declared there, working with the community to bring funding to improve several environmental issues.
Working in partnership
Much of the Council's work is done in association with external organisations, private companies and agencies. Yorkshire Electricity is currently the council's electricity supplier after winning the contract in competition with other companies. In Wigan Borough, we work closely with United Utilities plc, who are the council's service connection supplier. Tasks must be co-ordinated to ensure that after the Council has completed work, the supply is operational and the lights work!
For more information about United Utilities, you can visit their website.
