Two year project to replace street lights in Slough gets underway

Roads in Slough will be made a little bit brighter thanks to a two-year project which involves all the town’s street-lights being replaced by energy efficient LEDs.

Since work began last month, 28 roads have been fitted with the new lights, including Wentworth Avenue and Long Readings Lane in Britwell.

Sing-Wai Yu, service manager for the project, said: “The murky yellow or orange glow we’re used to seeing at night is almost a thing of the past in Britwell.

“The streets and paths with the new LEDs already feel safer and the feedback from residents has been good.

“A small number of people are finding the white lights difficult to get used to, but the LEDs come with a central computer system that once installed will allow us to dim certain areas remotely should we need to.”

The project is a joint initiative between Slough Borough Council (SBC), Wokingham Borough Council and Reading Borough Council.

The three councils were awarded £19.3m from the Department for Transport’s highways challenge fund in March 2015.

The funding will cover 70 per cent of the cost of upgrading lighting in all three boroughs, with the remaining 30 per cent coming from each council.

Rob Anderson, leader of Slough Borough Council, said: “We worked hard to win government funding for this project and I’m delighted to see our efforts paying off.

“This is a major modernisation of our lighting, which will ultimately benefit everybody who lives, works or travels through the borough.

“I’m pleased it is having such an immediate impact in Britwell and I look forward to seeing the difference it makes in other areas as work progresses.”