Brickhill Councillors reducing energy costs in Brickhill
Charles Royden and Wendy Rider, Lib Dem Brickhill Councillors, have issued the following news to their residents regarding the new LED lights in Brickhill - to follow events in Brickhill, Bedford please follow their website www.puttingbrickhillfirst.com
"Four years ago street lights in Bedford were on their last legs, some lights were broken, others were on all of the time and many columns were structurally corroded. We had a vision to replace all of the lights with new LED units and take out the failing columns and old concrete structures. With a mixture of government grants and council investment street light have been replaced across Bedford with new LED lights and now Brickhill is undergoing a lighting transformation. The reduced energy use of the new LED lights means they are great for the environment and they save the council over £260,000 a year on energy costs. They are also each connected to a central control which detects faults and can increase and decrease lighting levels. Other councils have taken the decision to turn lights off to save money, in Bedford we are now saving money whilst retaining lighting which is important for safety and security. Praise has also come from Bedford astronomers who have valued the reduced light pollution enabling a fresh vision of the night sky.
Financial savings continue to be at the forefront of our minds on the council as we face millions of pounds more of government cuts. We are committed to make sure that we deliver services which make our neighbourhood a great place to live, like cutting the grass and repairing roads and pavements. Mayor Dave Hodgson has invested an additional £1m this year to help us repair more roads and pavements, however there is a decreasing amount of money and the cost to the council of providing services such as care for the elderly and education means that we just cannot do all that we would like to do. As your local councillors we will continue to work hard and keep you informed through regular deliveries of FOCUS, surgeries and our website www.puttingbrickhillfirst.com"