Street lighting

50Report it by phone or fax

• call our free 24 hour fault line on 0800 317802 *
• fax 01865 713917

* Please note that the fault line has an answerphone. Any messages left outside of normal office hours (9am - 5pm) are taken off first thing each working weekday.

To report serious or dangerous damage outside normal office hours, please call Thames Valley Police on 08458 505505 or 101.

Street lights FAQs

Who carries out the repairs?

We are responsible for:

• maintaining the county council's street lights and illuminated traffic signs and bollards
• administering the contract to supply them with electricity
• designing new street lighting installations and approving the designs of developers.

To identify faulty lights, night inspections are carried out at two weekly intervals in the winter and four weekly intervals in the summer. Every unit we are responsible for is periodically cleaned, serviced, tested and has a new lamp fitted:

• street lights - every three years
• illuminated traffic signs - every two years
• illuminated bollards - every year

In addition all units are electrically tested every six years.

All this work is carried out by our maintenance contractor, currently Scottish and Southern Electric Contracting.

How quickly will the repairs be carried out?

Almost all straightforward repairs will be completed within five working days. Emergencies will be attended within two or twenty four hours dependant upon the type:

• Damaged lighting column or sign post, door or inspection cover open or missing, lantern or bowl hanging, knocked down or missing illuminated bollard: these faults carry a two hour emergency attendance.
• Illuminated bollards not lit, groups of street lights not working: these faults carry a 24 hour attendance.

If a light has been attended and we receive a report that it is still not working our contractors are asked to return within twenty four hours at no extra cost to the taxpayer.

Electricity supply faults

Our response standards apply to all electrical faults within our control. Often the fault is a failure in the electricity supply, which is the responsibility of the energy supplier. In Oxfordshire this is mainly Scottish & Southern Energy, with Western Power covering the Banbury area and UK Power Networks covering the Thame and Chinnor area.

In the home or office, the electricity company is bound by a charter to ensure continuity of supply. They are under no such obligation to local authorities for street lighting, and our ability to obtain a speedy service from them is limited to friendly persuasion.

This situation has prevailed since deregulation in the 1980s, and is becoming increasingly unacceptable to local authorities across the country. Needless to say we are working hard to change the situation, and at present there is a trial scheme in conjunction with the regulator Ofgem, to find an acceptable Service Level Agreement. In general they will try to repair supply faults within 20 working days.

Damaged columns from road traffic accidents

We try to replace street lights damaged as a result of road traffic accidents within 14 days. Wherever possible costs are recouped from those found responsible.

Can I hang festive lights?  

Permission is required from Oxfordshire County Council before hanging festive decorations from street lighting columns.

While festive lighting, such as Christmas decorations and hanging baskets may look attractive, it is essential that these do not put the public at risk, or obscure or damage highway lighting columns.  For this reason, the columns must be structurally tested, the costs borne by the applicant.

There is a Code of Practice for Festive Lighting. Copies can be obtained from the Institute of Lighting Professionals. Any festive lighting that is erected is the responsibility of the owner not the County Council. This includes responsibility for maintenance and the cost of electricity used. 

How can I request additional lighting?

There is currently no budget available for the installation of new lighting. If you feel that new or improved lighting is needed please contact us setting out your proposals. Alternatively, you may take up the matter with your local parish or town council. Any new lighting will have to be paid for by the relevant body making the request. This cost will include erection and the cost of thirty years' future maintenance of the lighting, known as a 'commuted sum'.

In rural areas new lighting will only be provided in consultation with the local councils, if it is necessary (for road safety or security reasons), affordable and sustainable.

How do you check lights that burn during daylight hours?

Most street lights are controlled by photoelectric cells and these are designed to fail in the on position (i.e. the light will be on in the daytime).

We do not undertake complete inspections of all our equipment to detect 'dayburners', but rely mainly upon reports of these. There is no additional cost to us because of the way we pay for our electricity (unmetered supply), although it is still important that these are reported to us for repair as they do use additional energy that could be saved.

What happens if my trees or bushes obscure a light?

If you have a tree or bush in your garden that is affecting the efficiency of a street light, please keep it trimmed. This includes bushes that surround the base of the column or sign as access is needed for inspections and testing for electrical safety.

If we discover a problem we will write to the owner of the land from which the tree is growing asking for the tree/bush to be trimmed. If no action is taken we will arrange for the trimming and may pass the cost on to the owner.

Can I attach anything to a lighting column?  

Modern lighting columns are critically designed for structural strength. For this reason we do not allow any advertising signs etc to be attached to our equipment. Only approved and necessary signs are allowed.

Why does my street light turn off at night? 

As part of Oxfordshire County Council's Carbon Action Plan, we have implemented various carbon and council tax saving measures.  One of these is to switch off street lights in residential areas from 12.30am to 5.30am, where safe to do so and with Parish Council approval.

As well as replacing the lights, do you fix the street lighting columns?

There is an annual Column Replacement Programme. This is designed to identify and replace lighting columns that are in a bad structural condition through age. It is normally done on a whole road basis. We have an annual programme of electronic structural testing of approximately 3,000 columns per year which is carried out by a specialist contractor.

Where can I find more information on general lighting matters?

For more information on general lighting matters, such as guidance on domestic security lighting, the reduction of light pollution or the effects of lighting on crime etc. please visit the Institute of Lighting Professionals website.

How many lights do you look after?

There are about 57,800 street lights, 4,000 illuminated signs and 2,800 illuminated bollards in the county. At any given date approximately 99.2% of street lights, signs and bollards for which we are responsible are operating correctly.

In any year we receive from members of the public approximately 5000 reports of lights not working, and a further 10,000 fault reports from our night time patrol staff.