Approval has been granted to replace high-power street lighting lamps with LEDs to reduce the cost of managing for the county council.

Hampshire County Council indicated that replacing around 9,400 high-power lamps will cost an estimated £3.556 million.

The approval is one of the measures included in Phase 1 of the SP25 Savings Programme, approved in October 2024, developed by the administration to address the budget deficit, which is expected to be at least £97.6 million for 2025/26.

The savings program revealed that Hampshire could reduce the costs associated with managing its street lighting network by £500,000.

This reduction includes the implementation of dimming and part-night lighting measures, which have received the necessary approvals.

It is projected that the savings from dimming and part-night lighting will amount to £309,809, based on energy rates for 2025/26.

Since 2010, the county council has gradually decreased the brightness of streetlights on both residential streets and the classified road network to save costs.

Changes to LEDs have been on the council’s table since 2021 to enable approximately 12,000 high-power lamps to be replaced with more energy-efficient LEDs.

The council has indicated that a technical agreement has now been reached, enabling the installation of more energy-efficient LED lamps at scale.

Replacing around 9,400 high-power lamps will cost an estimated £3.556 million.

The financing for the LED replacement project and its related legal expenses is allocated from the capital payments reserve within the Capital Programme.

Based on the energy and maintenance rates for 2025/2026, the anticipated annual savings will total approximately £531,385, starting from 2026/2027, once the work is completed.

Additionally, there are expected savings of £309,809 from implementing extended part-night lighting and dimming.

The total savings from measures such as part-night lighting, dimming, and lamp replacement are expected to reach around £840,000.

Cllr Malcolm Wallace said the proposal is a “win-win” for everyone, “it saves us money and reduces our emissions, all good things”.