Lighting up Walsall
In partnership with
Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
Public Lighting Service
The Public Lighting Service was set up to:
Modernise, standardise, maintain and manage street lighting
across the borough
Contribute towards improving road safety
Contribute to a reduction of crime and a reduction in the fear of
crime
Walsall Council has set up the Public Lighting Service as a
partnership with Amey Highways Lighting (Walsall) Ltd. Its function
is to upgrade and maintain the street lighting stock and standardise
the lighting in the borough over a period of 26 years starting from
April 2002 within a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) contract.
The Council manages the project to make sure that the service is
delivered as set out in the contract in accordance with performance
standards.
Key activity of the Public Lighting Service includes:
Removal of the ageing stock of street lighting
Improving road safety
Contributing to a reduction in the fear of crime
Regular maintenance of the street lighting
Periodic lamp change and cleaning
All the street lighting columns are numbered and display a free
phone number for reporting when the street lights are not working
or in the event of an emergency. The freephone number is 0800
3891732.
Progress
The success of the Public Lighting Service has contributed towards
Walsall Council’s improved CPA rating of ‘fair’, and will continue to
play an important role in the Councils drive for excellence.
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
The early completion of the Core Investment Programme (CIP) set
the project apart from other Street Lighting PFIs and made it truly
groundbreaking.
The partnership has gone from strength to strength, with
communication and teamwork being more effective than ever.
Operational performance has been consistently high and existing
systems for monitoring performance have been developed with
new systems being evolved continuously.
All contractual performance targets have been bettered and internal
targets are now close to being realised. Safety performance has
been good and both internal and external audits indicate that
constant improvement is being achieved.
The use of new technologies will help further reduce energy
consumption. Innovations are being made and ideas explored with
a view to improving service and providing best value.
Achievements
Some of the key achievements of the Public Lighting Service
include:
Removal of 18,211 ageing street lighting columns two years
ahead of schedule
Standardisation of lighting levels and equipment across the
borough
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
Some Key Successes
Recent statistical evidence strongly suggests that the PFI project
is making a positive contribution to the improvement in road safety
and the reduction in the fear of crime across the borough.
ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
One goal of the Public Lighting Service is to reduce the amount
and severity of road traffic accidents through the implementation of
‘smart design’ principles.
The total number and severity of road traffic accidents (RTAs)
has fallen between 2001 and 2004. The number of road traffic
accidents has also fallen from 914 in 2001 to 714 in 2004, a 22%
reduction.
The severity of the accidents has also lessened. There have been
30% fewer fatal accidents, 21% fewer serious accidents and 22%
fewer slight accidents. The percentage decline in fatal accidents
may be of particular significance given the aims of the CIP to
reduce the severity of RTAs.
The number of people injured or killed as a result of RTAs in the
borough has also declined significantly over the four year period.
In 2001 there were 1,216 people injured or killed as a result of
accidents, by 2004 this number fell to 965 – a 21% reduction.
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
FEAR OF CRIME
Another objective is to reduce crime and fear of crime across the
borough through better lighting.
There has been a 36% fall in the number of night time household
burglaries since the start of the Core Investment Programme in
April 2002.
Between April 2004 and April 2005 there was a sharp decline in
the rate of night time burglaries of 31%.
Other agencies and organisations have also been working
countrywide and within the borough to reduce crime and fear of
crime. It is hard to pin the recent improvements on any one initiative
or body, but the effects of improved lighting on crime are both
logical and based on sound scientific research1.
E.g. Home Office research study 251 issued by Home Office Research, Development and Statistics
Directorate (Aug 2002)
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
Overall Performance Information
The following graphs show the number of complaints and queries
the public lighting service has received by ward across the borough.
This valuable source of customer feedback is used by the public
lighting service to review and improve the overall quality of the
service provided
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
Are we doing a good job?
Have we done a good job? Then ‘Tell us’! We have a form on which
you can make comments, suggest how we can improve services
or make a formal complaint. These ‘Tell Us’ forms are available in all
council reception areas. If you prefer, contact us directly and we will
send you one. If you have internet access, you can complete the
form online at www.walsall.gov.uk/tellus
You can help us to improve our service
To report a problem with street lights or illuminated street signs,
please call Amey direct on 0800 389 1732, or alternatively use the
Amey report form on our internet site at www.walsall.gov.uk via the
“report a street problem” link.
If you are calling to report a fault, please provide the following
information:
Your name and address
Location of the fault (for example, outside No. 11, High Street,
Bloxwich)
The number on the lamp post (if any)
The nature of the fault, for example, light not working, lights
flashing, exposed wires, doors off
Any other concerns
Note: All information provided will be treated as confidential and
dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
For out of hours and emergency calls, please call Amey on 0800
389 1732 (for emergencies involving street lights, illuminated street
signs or illuminated bollards).
Amey will attend emergencies in an hour to make the site safe. All
other non-emergency faults will be attended to as soon as possible.
Repair works will be completed within five working days.
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Lighting up Walsall
Walsall Council in partnership with Amey
Our continuing commitment to you
Across the borough there are approximately 24,000 lamp posts
and 4,000 illuminated road signs and bollards. The Public Lighting
Service will ensure that:
The streets are lit at all times to a minimum national standard.
All street lights are maintained in accordance with a planned
maintenance programme and cleared on a regular basis.
All street lights are maintained as necessary.
Regular electrical and structural inspections are carried out on all
the street lights
Faults reported are attended to as quickly as possible to ensure
minimum disruption
Fly posting and graffiti are removed within 24 hours of receipt of
information
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Tel: 01922 652555
Fax: 01922 643966
Website: www.walsall.gov.uk
26278 SB 10/05
Public Lighting Service
Walsall Council
Civic Centre
Darwall Street
Walsall WS1 1DG