Goldsel Road lights out (still, again)

Around Christmas 2015, residents of the Crockenhill end of Goldsel Road had to endure a long period of the street lights being out. The problem recurred in November, and has yet to be fixed. I have had many representations from local residents, and from the Parish Council, and have sought to get this resolved.

At the time,  I notified Kent Highways' lighting engineer, who concluded that (as was the case last year) the problem reflected a power failure. This was reported to the network supplier, UK Power Networks (UKPN).

I understand that a UKPN team visited the site before Christmas, but were unable to locate a fault. However, Kent Highways has remained of the view that this was indeed a cable fault - the fact that half a dozen or so new lights have all gone out together strongly supports this - and relayed this view to UKPN.

The Lighting Engineer has since spoken to the UKPN local authority helpline; they have confirmed that the fault is on the UKPN system. It is now being treated as a high priority as it relates to a group of lights being out (and, of course, have now been so for some time). The work has been passed to a crew who are experienced in locating underground faults and are treating the fault as a priority.

Kent Highways' Lighting Engineer will continue to check the area regularly. I share residents' frustration that this has taken so long, but continue to pursue the issue and hope that this now represents progress towards getting it fixed.

UPDATE 12 January: As of last night, the lights are reported back on.

Goldsel Road lighting

As reported just before Christmas, the problem of the power being out for lights in Goldsel Road was addressed by UK Power Networks. However, it then became clear that, as a result of the power being out at the time that the new lighting was due to be installed, this had not taken place.

I have been in contact with KCC's lighting engineer, who was following up with the contractors to ensure that the works now took place. This has now been done; the new lights are in place and the stumps of the old posts have been removed. However, two of the new lights have not yet been turned on. KCC's lighting engineer has raised a notice of a defect with the contractors, and so a crew should be on site to resolve this shortly.

LED street lighting contract awarded

KCC has awarded the £40 million contract for converting its 118,000 street lights to Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology to Bouygues Energies and Services. The contract award represents another step towards delivering major savings on the County Council's £9.2 million annual spend in street lighting.

The conversion of street lights in residential areas to LED should begin as soon as March. The entire conversion project should be completed in a little over three years, though the residential areas should be complete much sooner than that. It had originally appeared likely that areas that had been the first to be moved to part-night lighting (such as Sevenoaks District) would be the first in line for LED. This now appears less likely, but in any case LED should reach Sevenoaks, including Darent Valley, soon.

The adoption of LED, and the annual savings of up to £5.2 million that it will deliver, will provide the opportunity to revisit the part-night lighting policy. The results of a consultation on a new policy will be discussed at a KCC committee meeting in February.

Goldsel Road - lights reported back on

Perhaps my shortest ever post ...  I have just had an email from a resident telling me that the lights in Goldsel Road are back on. Good news, and I'm only sorry that it has taken quite so long.

Goldsel Road latest

Since my previous post, I have kept in contact with Kent Highways' lighting engineer regarding the work that UK Power Networks are undertaking to fix the fault in Goldsel Road. I understand that UKPN were on siteyesterday; they have identified the cable that is causing the problem, but not the exact point at which there is a fault. They have been in the area again today, trying to get another power supply to the cable, which would help them identify the fault more precisely. Three vans were on site and a large trench was dug.

I understand that, to hit UKPN’s own targets for fixing faults, the issue should be resolved by today; however, that will clearly depend on their ability to identify what needs to be done. Hopefully that will be soon.

As before, I will post again as soon as I have further news.

Lights out in Goldsel Road

Since late October, Crockenhill residents have been increasingly concerned about the darkness in a major part of Goldsel Road, running from alongside Dibsdall Meadow to the bridge over the A20. The street lights have now been out for the best part of a month. I have taken a number of calls and emails from local residents, and have taken the matter up repeatedly with Kent Highways.

The difficulty has been identifying the root of the problem. Kent Highways recently replaced nine out of the twelve columns in this area, and it seemed quite possible that the failure of the street lights was related to this. However, there was also the possibility that the problem reflected a fault in the electricity supply from UK Power Networks (UKPN). Several visits took place from Kent Highways teams before the problem was definitively established last week as one that related to the UKPN supply.

I understand that a UKPN team was in the area yesterday afternoon and it is hoped that they will be able to revisit today to make a damaged cable in the area safe. This is not the cause of the lighting fault, but making it safe is necessary for other work to be undertaken. It is not possible to say how long it will take to fix the fault until its precise nature is diagnosed.

It is frustrating that it has taken us several weeks to get to this point, and it is still not clear exactly when the problem will be resolved. However, it is at least positive that UKPN are on site and I will provide an update as soon as I know more.

Street lighting consultation: give your views

KCC continues to make progress in its procurement of LED lighting for the 118,000 street lights that it is responsible for across the County. This should deliver annual savings of £5.2 million. Coupled with lower costs, the new LED lighting will bring with it a Central Management System, which will allow for greater flexibility in dimming lights and in varying times when lights are turned on and off.

This represents an opportunity to gather residents' opinions on the system of part-night lighting that was introduced in Sevenoaks District at the start of a County-wide roll-out in late 2013. The County Council therefore launched yesterday a 10-week consultation on whether residents want to continue with part-night lighting or go back to having lights on all night. The results of the consultation should allow for a varied approach across different areas. This makes sense; in many urban areas (such as Swanley within Darent Valley), residents were very concerned about street lights being turned off at night, whereas in many rural areas there may be a very different view.

The consultation runs until 29 November. You can find KCC's press release here, and the consultation itself here. I hope as many Darent Valley residents as possible take part.

KCC moves ahead with LED lighting

Kent County Council plans to invest some £40 m to convert its street lights to LED (light emitting diode) technology, delivering huge cost and energy savings while offering the prospect of restoring full-night lighting in residential areas. This will be the biggest conversion scheme of its kind in the country.

The council has secured low-cost financing and will go out to procurement for delivery of the lighting. Subject to this process being completed satisfactorily, installation could start late this year or in early 2016. The initial focus will be on installation in residential areas.

Installing LED should deliver savings of 60% on KCC's highways lighting bills, enabling full-night lighting to be restored. This is a very welcome development; a number of constituents, especially in Swanley, have been strongly opposed to the part-night lighting that was instituted at the end of 2013. The County Council has argued that it had to deliver both cost and carbon savings. If LED is installed successfully, it should enable savings to be delivered and residents' concerns to be met.

You can find an article on this from the KCC media hub here.

Street lighting: the next phase

In a post late last year, I set out Kent County Council's "safe and sensible street lighting" policy, intended to deliver financial savings of £1 million per year and a reduction in carbon emissions. This started with the switching off of many streetlights between the hours of midnight and 5:30 AM, so-called "part-night lighting". This came into effect in the Sevenoaks area just before Christmas.

As I mentioned at that time, the second element of the policy was to embark on a trial full switch-off of some lights that are adjudged redundant and would not be newly installed under today's policies. During consultation, I asked for some of the proposals for the switch-off on roads in Darent Vally to be withdrawn and this was done. However, there will be some lights switched off in Darent Valley, notably on Main Road near Farningham and on Goldsel Road on the approach to Crockenhill. This will take place by the end of this month, though it will be on a trial basis.

"Part-night lighting" remains a cause for concern for some residents, notably in Swanley. I hope to meet a number of concerned residents in the near future. The policy will be reviewed in particular areas if there is evidence of a significant increase in crime or accidents that could plausibly be linked to the new policy. I understand from Kent Police that data will be available in a matter of weeks, and that it will be very detailed, going down to individual street level.

Safe and sensible street lighting

Kent County Council has been reviewing its street lighting services. Our present provision of lighting costs £5.8 million (rising to £6.4 million next year) and emits 29,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. A significant part of what is provided would not be installed under current guidelines. 'Safe and sensible street lighting' is an initiative to rationalise street lighting provision to save costs and reduce carbon emissions while continuing to provide the service where and when it is truly needed.

The initiative will take two forms. Firstly, there will be a trial complete switch-off of lights in certain areas where it is judged safe to do this. In the case of Sevenoaks, this was discussed at our Joint Transportation Board in March. As the record shows, I asked for some proposed areas to be excluded from the switch-off, and this was agreed; nonetheless, some areas in Darent Valley, such as Main Road near Farningham and Goldsel Road approaching Crockenhill, are included.

Secondly, there will be a shift to 'part-night lighting' in many areas; lights will be switched off between midnight and 5:30am. This follows a consultation in the summer, in which 75% of respondents supported the proposals. Lights will be considered suitable for this unless they are in areas such as major traffic routes, sites of housing for vulnerable people, sites at risk of increased crime and the like. (The full list of criteria can be found in Kent County Council's press release).  This is being implemented in a rolling programme across Kent; in the case of Sevenoaks District, it will take effect in just over 10 days'  time, on 16 December.

Inevitably, there will be mixed feelings about these plans. Some communities favour being unlit, believing that it is part of their identity as rural villages and settlements. Other people are concerned at perceived increased risks of crime and traffic accidents. Kent Highways has made clear that safety remains its top priority, and that changes can and will be made if it becomes clear that the shutoff is having a damaging effect. Nonetheless, the overall direction of policy is clearly set, with the aim of delivering significant savings without compromising safety.