STREET LIGHTING

A £33m programme to repair and replace Derby's 26,000 street lights over five years could be carried out by a private company. The proposal comes after the city council admitted that the service had suffered from a lack of investment. It has been previously revealed that of the street lights in the city, up to 80 per cent - 20,800 - are in a poor structural condition or do not meet British standards, though none are deemed dangerous. It is also estimated that 70 per cent of the lights - 18,200 - are near to the end of their 25-year lives.

The council is currently responsible for street lights in the city, but the responsibility for replacing and maintaining them could be transferred to a company through a private finance initiative (PFI). For this financial year, the council has budgeted to spend £137,000 on replacing street lights -only on a like-for-like basis - plus a little over £1m on maintenance and power. Some street lights have already been replaced, such as those in Onslow Road, Mickleover. But, only a few streets away, the old lights remain in Devonshire Drive.

Under a PFI contract, which is expected to be worth between £28m and £33m, a company would take over the running, replacement programme and maintenance. The council would then repay the cost of the contract over the next 25 years. Members of the council's cabinet are to discuss whether they want to go forward with this option.

Council leader Maurice Burgess said, "I've been campaigning for a proper street lighting programme to get rid of the dark corners and the PFI is a way to achieve that over a five-year period. It will be one of the things that people all over the city will be pleased to see, as it will add to their security and enhance the areas they live in. At the moment, there is a patchwork of replacement lights. Going through the PFI is much more economical."

At the moment, the council is forecast to pay £1,151,000 a year for the next 25 years to cover the cost of the street lights. But this does not address the problem of the replacement backlog. It is estimated that under the PFI agreement, the council would pay back between £1,126,000 to £1,319,000 each year and all the street lights would be replaced over a five-year period. Mr Burgess said this was an initiative that was started under the old Labour administration.