Street lights
Street lights
Good highway lighting helps to reduce road accidents. It can
also help reduce crime and the fear of crime. We aim to provide
cost effective, efficient and safe highway lighting and illuminated
traffic signs across the county.
In West Sussex, there are:
- over 65,000 street lights;
- over 10,000 illuminated signs and bollards.
Report a faulty street light, illuminated bollard or sign
Here at West Sussex County Council, we do our best to uphold the
safety and quality of our streets. If you discover a fault with any
street lighting, illuminated signs or bollards, please let our
service provider know and we will get them fixed.
You can report
a fault online or by phoning SSE Contracting on 0800
048 2435.
When you report a fault, it helps if you can provide:
- the identification number on the post (if available);
- whether a street light, sign or bollard;
- the number of the nearest house or other form of landmark.
Lighting on the major trunk roads in West Sussex (A27, M23 and A23)
is not the responsibility of the West Sussex County Council and any
faults on these roads should directed to the Highways
Agency.
Street lighting Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
In April 2010 SSE Contracting commenced
a 25 year Government backed maintenance contract with West
Sussex County Council. SSE Contracting became the service provider
for street lighting from this date and within the first 5 years
will be replacing around 80% of our ageing streetlights,
illuminated signs and bollards with new more energy efficient
equipment.
Standards of service
SSE Contracting aim to attend to lights, signs and bollards
within 3 days of receiving a reported fault. Usually repairs are
made at this time unless the problems rest with a utility company's
cable or spare parts are needed.
- All lights are checked at least once a month.
- There is a regular programme of inspection and cleaning.
- Each fault is given a unique reference number for monitoring
purposes.
Frequently asked questions
What sort of lights do you use and
why?
We use 3 main types of highway lighting:
1. High pressure sodium - this creates a warm glow and is
especially suitable for town centres and conservation areas.
2. Low pressure sodium - 'orange streetlights' this type of
lighting is now no longer installed.
3. Fluorescent tubes - these create a white light which makes
colours easy to identify and are now being used more widely in
residential road lighting.
Can we avoid lighting up the sky?
New street lighting is designed to consume the minimum amount of
electricity to achieve the required lighting levels. In order to
minimise light pollution, lighting from new columns is directed
only on to the highway.
How is the electricity supplied and paid
for?
The electricity for lights and signs is obtained from the local
supply company at a competitive rate. Power failures are outside
our control and are dealt with by the appropriate company.
What safety precautions do you
take?
All work carried out by our service provider is in accordance with
current health and safety regulations:
- All contractors working on public lighting must be technically
approved.
- All contractors are supervised to ensure that their work
complies with the County Council's safety policy.
Who deals with festive lighting, such as Christmas
decorations?
Usually, parish or town councils.