Sussex streetlight blunder costs £100k (From The Argus)
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Sussex streetlight blunder costs £100k
9:41am Wednesday 24th October 2012 in News Exclusive By Bill Gardner
Sussex streetlight blunder costs £100k
Thousands of residents have been left in the dark because of a council blunder that could cost taxpayers £100,000.
Town hall bosses at East Sussex County Council spent months installing new sensors on more than 3,000 streetlights as a way to save cash.
But officials have been left red-faced after they discovered their hi-tech devices were not turning on at the correct time, and failed to recognise the clocks going forward and back.
Now 3,300 sensors installed over the summer in Newhaven, Seaford, Peacehaven and Telscombe will need to be replaced at a cost of around £30 each.
Peacehaven resident Vicci Baker, 58, said her husband, 62, fell from the front step of their home in Fox Hill after stepping out into pitch blackness at around 6am.
But when she complained to the council she was told to “use a torch”.
Councillor Carl Maynard, the council cabinet member responsible for streetlights, admitted the blunder was “disappointing”.
He said: “Unfortunately all the sensors will need to be taken out and new ones put in. We’d like to apologise to residents for this mistake. We don’t know where the fault lies yet but we are in amicable discussions with our contractor.
“We will be replacing all affected units and resolving the problem within the next six months.”
When asked whether the contractor, Crawley-based company Colas, would be forced to shoulder the cost of the replacement sensors, Coun Maynard said: “We don’t yet know whether the contract was written in that way.”
In order to save money, the council installed the sensors to automatically switch off streetlights in residential areas from 12.30am to 5.30am.
But as the days shortened, people began to complain they were going to work in the dark.
Council employees then realised the sensors would only work on Greenwich Mean Time and were turning on the lights an hour late.
When the clocks go back on Sunday, the sensors will work correctly – but all 3,300 will need to be replaced before British Summer Time returns in March.
Mrs Baker said her husband took a tumble on Monday morning as he stepped out into the darkness.
She said: “I rang the council but they told me nothing was wrong. One person even told me it was fine and I should use a torch.
“Another officer told me people don’t get up for work that early so it didn’t matter – but firemen, milkmen and postmen do.
“People could be murdered or raped in the darkness because of this stupidity. It’s completely ridiculous and the buck stops at the council.”
Councillor David Tutt, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the county council, said there appeared to have been “a major error”.
He said: “It would be funny if it wasn’t so expensive. Someone has got to be held accountable for this.
“I will be asking serious questions of Carl Maynard and I just hope the contract was written in a way that protected the taxpayer from these costs.”
Comments(25)
Fight_Back
says...
9:51am Wed 24 Oct 12
Joshiman
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9:52am Wed 24 Oct 12
Tailgaters Anonymous
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10:31am Wed 24 Oct 12
What do they provide for the extortionate charge contained in our Council Tax?
Time the Government did something to eliminate this unnecessary layer of mindless bureaucracy!
Mr_Tom
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10:41am Wed 24 Oct 12
Crystal Ball
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11:42am Wed 24 Oct 12
mimseycal
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12:04pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Fight_Back wrote:Good points!
This story has a funny smell !!!! Firstly, if SENSORS were installed then by their very name they SENSE something - I'd suggest that would be light levels ( you can't sense time ! ) ? If that is the case then the time is irrelevant as is the change in BST to GMT. If on the other hand the council have ordered timers then the council should be making the supplier fix the problem for free. Any timer by its very definition should know the correct time. This yet again shows councils employ the dregs that private employers refuse and it's the taxpayer that suffers.
Rocco10
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12:21pm Wed 24 Oct 12
JoeBlow
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1:27pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Fight_Back wrote:Not completely good points. It is quite possible to combine timers and sensors so that the sensors only work between certain times. As the whole point was to have the lights off between certain hours, sensors alone wouldn't have done the job. As for timers, I'd agree that they should tell the correct time. But I can also quite easily believe that someone on the council said "We'll have that model" without checking its capabilities properly, in which case it wouldn't only be the supplier's fault.
This story has a funny smell !!!! Firstly, if SENSORS were installed then by their very name they SENSE something - I'd suggest that would be light levels ( you can't sense time ! ) ? If that is the case then the time is irrelevant as is the change in BST to GMT. If on the other hand the council have ordered timers then the council should be making the supplier fix the problem for free. Any timer by its very definition should know the correct time. This yet again shows councils employ the dregs that private employers refuse and it's the taxpayer that suffers.
Tis I
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1:36pm Wed 24 Oct 12
made up
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3:14pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Murdered or raped in the dark? Maybe a bit of an extreme statement there.
lillylou
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3:45pm Wed 24 Oct 12
censored
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4:58pm Wed 24 Oct 12
If it was the council, then they're at fault.
If it was the contractor who recommended them, then the recommendation does not fit the brief which is to turn the lights on at a specific time every day, so the contractor is at fault.
I suspect, however, the contractor only installed what they were told to.
funkyyoyo
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5:44pm Wed 24 Oct 12
BenUk
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6:09pm Wed 24 Oct 12
ShorehamBeachcomber
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6:24pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Unbias
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7:58pm Wed 24 Oct 12
for their actions...I very much doubt it though?......
Sweep it aside, the tax payer will rectify it and they will continue to earn their fat-packs.
Thatsjustyummy
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8:02pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Strangely I've never fallen over on any of the walks back, or even there.
tonybee
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1:38am Thu 25 Oct 12
They should all retire & have their overpriced pensions revoked & finally
experience how most people live
IM35461
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6:34am Thu 25 Oct 12
We will see next week...
Of course the figure of £100K does not include the labour costs to change the 3300 PECU devices. I would guess it would cost £70.00 per lamp post for the electrician and his access platform which would make the cost £330K
They also told me the "energy saving project" would not make any financial savings for several years...
Made In Sussex
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9:14am Thu 25 Oct 12
r of the lamps but incompetence on the part of the council for not properly considering what they needed and checking the spec of what they werer buying agsinst this... before they commited to buying!
One View
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4:06pm Thu 25 Oct 12
funkyyoyo wrote:Yes they are brilliant and energy saving. Brighton & Hove is currently undergoing a major revamp in lighting. Hopefully those horrible motorway style yellow sodium lights will all be gone soon.Good riddance! Welcome to the new white lights :o)
has anyone noticed the led streetlights along montpelier road and denmark terrace!!! great idea as cheaper to run,shame there not as bright as normal street lights,perhaps 6 led panels instead of 4 would make the road a little brighter And safer
Bill in Hanover
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6:09pm Thu 25 Oct 12
disappointedGill
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1:53pm Fri 26 Oct 12
One View wrote:Agreed - good for Brighton and Hove making the effort of those yellow lights. Goodbye skyglow and hello to lighting where it's meant to be.
funkyyoyo wrote:Yes they are brilliant and energy saving. Brighton & Hove is currently undergoing a major revamp in lighting. Hopefully those horrible motorway style yellow sodium lights will all be gone soon.Good riddance! Welcome to the new white lights :o)
has anyone noticed the led streetlights along montpelier road and denmark terrace!!! great idea as cheaper to run,shame there not as bright as normal street lights,perhaps 6 led panels instead of 4 would make the road a little brighter And safer
disappointedGill
says...
2:09pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Bill in Hanover wrote:Think you misunderstood maybe you could call them up and clarify with them?
Didn't this article come up a few weeks ago and the Council blamed it on seagulls c**pping on the sensors
saveHOVE says...
9:48am Wed 24 Oct 12