LED streetlight conversion investment hits nearly £442m for England’s County Councils, new data reveals

As part of efforts to reduce emissions and energy bills, county councils across England are undertaking a complete transformation of street lighting, from old inefficient bulbs to much greener LED technology. But which councils are leading the way, and how much is it all costing?

Research conducted by The Lighting Superstore, reveals county councils in England have allocated or spent a combined sum of approximately £442 million (£441,850,699.48 to be precise) on LED streetlight schemes to date.

According to the data obtained via FOI request, one of the earliest schemes began in 2009, initiated by Lancashire County Council, and only 10 out of 29 schemes have been completed to date.

Hertfordshire County Council has allocated or spent the most on its LED streetlight scheme (£42.14m) – and has converted approximately 117,361 lights.

Alongside its Part Night Lighting Policy, which is soon to be revised, the LED streetlight scheme has helped Hertfordshire County Council achieve a 79 percent reduction in carbon emissions and saved “around £6.9m a year, based on April 2022 energy costs”.

Kent County Council, the largest local authority by population, has spent £38.96m on its scheme to date, which is considered substantially complete with only 160 lights remaining due to accessibility issues. In the scheme’s first phase in December 2015, 12,000 LED light conversions reduced energy consumption by 29,014,000 kWh and saved 18,563 tonnes of CO2e* emissions.

Oxfordshire County Council has taken third place for the most money spent on its LED streetlight scheme – approximately £36.6m upon completion. However, the county council said it has already saved £3.3m in energy costs in the last four years.

Last year, Oxfordshire County Council planned to roll out an overnight switch-off scheme of its 60,000 streetlights, part of a carbon and council tax savings initiative, but the proposal was paused following public safety concerns.

Derbyshire County Council has allocated or spent the fourth highest amount on its LED streetlight scheme with £30.07m spent since the scheme started in December 2016. The council has converted 89,623 lights with only 877 remaining and has saved £3,170,449 in energy costs to date.

Interestingly, Derbyshire County Council’s bill is £6.5m smaller than Oxfordshire County Council’s, despite converting over 33,000 more lights. However, Oxfordshire County Council reported that “in over 21,000 cases [the monetary figure] also includes replacing streetlight columns, which were at the end of their structural lifespan, at the same time as installing the new LED lantern”.

Essex County Council’s LED streetlight scheme commenced in 2015 and only 275 lights remain unconverted. However, the county council only provided the amount spent for phase four of the scheme - £24.2m – and the total spend could be significantly higher.

Cambridgeshire County Council replaced 3,634 lanterns with LEDs in 2018, costing £930k. But 47,000 still need to be replaced. The county council started a “major project” this January, aiming to replace approximately 2,000 lanterns a month and this is expected to be complete by May 2026. No budget or expected cost information was provided.

West and North Northamptonshire take second and third place for the least spent on their LED conversion schemes, which began in 2023. Both counties hope to complete the conversion project by December 2025.

Just days ago, West Sussex County Council announced the beginning of its scheme to convert its 65,130 streetlights to LED, planning to spend £24m on the project.

The county council is one the latest, if not the last, to begin an LED conversion scheme, citing “Covid and complex negotiations regarding changes to the current Street Lighting Private Finance Initiative contract” as reasons for the delay.

Hampshire and Buckinghamshire County Councils didn't provide financial data regarding their LED streetlight schemes, neither of which are completed and began in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

Matthew Currington, The Lighting Superstore’s Technical Director, encourages councils to continue with their LED streetlight programmes: “Transitioning to LED streetlighting is a critical step in reducing both carbon emissions and energy costs across the UK.

“Our research shows, that while these county councils have made excellent progress, there are many that have yet to complete their respective schemes while West Sussex County Council has yet to begin.

“While funding is often a big issue, we hope councils stay committed to completing their LED streetlight schemes. Not only are they good for the environment but lead to significant financial savings for local authorities and taxpayers in the long run.”