More bat lights for Worcestershire as LED streetlight plans rolled out

Almost 58,000 streetlights across Worcestershire have now been converted to LED as part of the County Council’s ‘Rapid LED Roll-Out’ programme.

The innovative two-year project will save energy, reduce carbon emissions, and reduce any impact on protected species such as bats.

Between April 2022 and August 2023, an additional 21,000 streetlights have been converted to LED, leaving less than 1% of our lighting streetlights left to convert.

The project includes installing bat friendly street lighting. In 2019, the Council installed its first stretch of bat-friendly lights in what was believed to be a UK first. The award-winning project in Warndon, Worcester, set a high benchmark not only in the county but also the country and beyond. Bat friendly street lighting has also been installed in ecologically sensitive areas.

Councillor Richard Morris, Cabinet Member for the Environment at Worcestershire County Council, said: “We invested an extra £6 million in the 2022 and 2023 street lighting budget to enable the replacement of all non-led units to more energy efficient LEDs.

“The ‘bat friendly’ lights are part of this project and are a great example of evolving our LED’s to better suit the local environment. The amber and red lights being used may look a little different at first, but we would like to assure those using the area at night that the colour of the lights has been through rigorous safety checks.

“We know bats are an indicator of biodiversity health and so, if we protect our bats, we also protect the local environment.’’

Bat friendly streetlights see blue light removed and light intensity reduced, allowing bats to move freely between habitats, reducing the impact on general biodiversity.

The colour of street lighting on roads will vary as Worcestershire County Council have assessed the County for known conservation areas. They will be installing amber or red streetlights depending on potential for impact on biodiversity.

Worcestershire County Council is committed to helping preserve and protect the Environment for future generations. The Council has agreed a Net Zero plan which will focus efforts to reduce our environmental impact even further whilst still enabling us to deliver sustainable growth and will continue to invest in environmental measures that protect natural environment, enhance biodiversity, and reduce the carbon footprint.