Council converts 35,000 street lights to LED in Milton Keynes, creating 'cleaner, crisper light'

Milton Keynes City Council has this week announced it has converted more than 35,000 streetlights to LED to save large amounts of energy as well as cash.

The lights on grid roads were the first to be changed and now the council is concentrating on estates and residential areas.

They say the new LED lanterns will help save around 5 million kWh of energy – between 50% and 70% of total lighting bills - and also reduce maintenance costs.

The old streetlamps gave off an orange sodium glow but LED is a “cleaner, crisper” white light that is more efficient in highlighting precise areas, says the council.

The lights also come on later in the evening than before due to the new sensors.

Some residents are big fans of the new lights while others say they miss the old orange glow. And some complain the new lights are too bright, particularly when they are right outside homes, while others say they are too dim on the highways.

"The ones in the street are too dim yet somehow harsh on the eyes,” posted one critic on social media, while another said: “They only seem to light the trees and sky, not the roads. They seem too high for the main roads.”

One wag stated: “Lots of them on grid roads save even more energy as many of them do not work.”

MK City Council is responsible for 58,000 street lights across Milton Keynes.

Their spokesperson said: “With energy costs increasing and our ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030, we’re looking at ways to reduce our electricity usage whilst still providing a safe level of street lighting.

"LED is a more energy efficient type of light that we are rolling out across MK. The light is crisper, brighter and can be targeted just where it is needed. They use less energy and don't need replacing as often as the old orange lights. Also they don't contain any harmful chemicals like sodium and mercury, which the older ones do.

You can report faulty streetlights on the council’s website here.

Meanwhile, tomorrow (Wednesday) the council’s highways experts will be online live on X (Twitter) and Facebook with contractors Ringway between 5pm and 7pm to answer questions about roads and lighting.