Street lights

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We are responsible for the majority of street lighting within the county, this included the maintenance of street lighting, illuminated traffic signs, illuminated bollards and associated equipment.

Reporting a fault

When reporting a fault it would be useful to have the following information available in order that the correct unit can be identified and repaired quickly:

• What number is painted on the street lighting column
• What road or street it is in
• What the fault is

Please bear in mind that most repairs are carried out in daylight when it is not easy to establish which light is faulty without accurate information.

We aim to attend to emergencies within two hours and all other fault are attended and repaired within five working days.

If a street light is damaged it may be dangerous, especially if any wiring can be seen. You should never attempt to help by covering up or touching the wires but if necessary you should warn children to keep away. Please call us immediately so that we can make it safe as quickly as possible.

Report a fault with a streetlight online or use the contact details below.

Steet light maintenance

Our term maintenance consultant (Mouchel) have a street lighting team who are responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the council's existing street lighting and illuminated traffic signs stock, they also design new street lighting installations and approve the designs of developers for new housing estates.

Within the county there are currently over 40,000 street lights and illuminated signs. Street lighting is something many people take for granted but it is very important to us. It reduces the likelihood of road traffic accidents for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicle users. It also increases the safety of our environment and property by reducing crime and vandalism.

When ever new lighting is installed or existing lighting upgraded/replaced the following issues are considered:

• Traffic, crime and the promotion of night time usage of the streets.
• The location - historic, conservation rural locations etc
• Clutter within the street, looking to minimise street furniture, combining items wherever possible.
• The affect on wildlife and the environment
• The impact on the carbon footprint. Wiltshire buys 100% Green
• Energy for street lighting

We administer the contract to supply these units with electricity with Traffic Services Europe (TSEU).

We are responsible for the following street furniture maintained on its behalf by Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services (BBIS).

• 39,734 street lighting columns
• 3,363 illuminated road signs
• 1,522 bollards
• 61 school twin flashing lights
• 237 zebra crossing flashing amber beacons

There is no statutory requirement on local authorities to provide public lighting and a highway authority's duty of care does not imply any duty to keep the public lighting lit. However, authorities should be able to demonstrate that they have systems in place to maintain the public lighting equipment in a safe condition.

An annual budget is allocated for street lighting (and associated electrical equipment) to cover routine maintenance (lamp replacement, cleaning, etc.) and electrical safety testing. We have very limited funding for the provision of new or enhancements to street lighting and associated equipment, and replacing sub-standard columns is treated as a priority.

Every street light and illuminated traffic sign is cleaned and serviced every three years. The lamps in the units are regularly changed and all units have a detailed electrical test carried out every six years in accordance with the Institution of Electrical Engineers Regulations. A detailed structural inspection is also carried out at every visit. All works are carried out by our term maintenance contractor Balfour Beatty. Regular night inspections are also carried out across the whole county to identify any faulty units, any units found to be non operational are recorded and the maintenance contractor is instructed to carry out the required repairs.

Last updated: 20 January 2011