Street lighting project gets the go ahead

A project to upgrade street lighting across Rochdale and Oldham has finally been given the go ahead by the Department for Transport.

The £150m project has suffered delays due to the economic climate, change of government and the capital spending review, but is now back on track with the preferred bidder, Community Lighting Partnership (CLP) appointed to carry out the work across both Rochdale and Oldham borough’s.

The joint project for Rochdale Borough Council and Oldham Council, will see 55,000 street lights, signs and bollards replaced over the next 5 years, providing a safer environment and a more energy efficient lighting system.

Rochdale and Oldham decided to work together on this project because many street lights in both boroughs were over 40 years old and needed to be replaced. By working together they have been able to get a better deal from the bidders and give better value to the council tax payers.

Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, Councillor Colin Lambert said: "Good street lighting is an essential part of our responsibility in terms of providing a safe environment for pedestrians and motorists. This investment in our street lighting will help us achieve the high standards of service that residents deserve."

Impact Partnership have managed the project and their Project Director, Rob Dawson said: “It is great to be given the go ahead for this project and together with the council we will now be working with CLP to finalise the contract and hope to start replacing street lights this summer.”

Oldham Council’s, Cabinet Member for Environment and Regeneration, Councillor John McCann said: “This is excellent news that will see more than 20,000 streetlights replaced across our borough. It is an ‘invest to save’ scheme that will see state-of-the-art street lighting installed that will be effective and also more energy efficient. By working in close partnership with Rochdale Borough Council we have been able to pool our resources and expertise to ensure that this essential infrastructure is renewed and maintained to a high standard in both boroughs.”