New LED street lights are cheaper and greener but not everybody is happy

The Chester Chronicle

The future is bright but it won’t be orange as old sodium lamps make way for LED lights across Cheshire West.

New energy efficient council street lights are saving taxpayers’ money and the earth’s scarce resources but have generated more than 200 complaints.

Cheshire West and Chester Council anticipates the LED lights, which use a fraction of the energy of sodium lamps and last much longer, will result in a 60% annual saving.

But a Freedom of Information response also reveals 220 complaints have been received from across the borough.

And The Chronicle took a phone call from a Chester resident suggesting the bright white lights were not in keeping with a Victorian street scene compared with the warmer orange glow from traditional lamps.

CWaC, which is spending £1.7 million per year on the LED replacement project, has revealed most complaints concern the new LED lights shining into properties, especially bedrooms.

For these complaints, the council says a shield can be installed on the front or rear of the lantern to block the light – the light can also be diffused by installing a louver on the bottom of the lens.

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