Community Lighting Partnership wins £150m PFI streetlighting deal

The Community Lighting Partnership has plugged into a £150m PFI streetlighting deal covering both Rochdale and Oldham borough councils.

The news means the lights have gone out for four other contenders:

• Balfour Beatty Power Networks
• Amey
• Tay Valley Lighting (Scottish Southern Electricity / Bank of Scotland)
• Northern Lighting Partnership (David Webster / Bethells)

The preferred bidder, which comprises E.ON UK / Pell Frischmann Consultants / Trillium Holdings, is due to start work on the project in September.

The scheme will span five years and includes a 20-year maintenance programme.

The centrepiece of the job is the replacement of 55,000 streetlights in Rochdale and Oldham.

The job also includes almost 40,000 columns, nearly 4,000 illuminated signs, 1,158 bollards and 1,313 beacons.

The joint procurement scheme is one of the largest metropolitan deals in the current phase of PFI applications.

Rochdale and Oldham decided to work together on the project with the aim of cutting long-term maintenance costs and reducing both councils' carbon footprints.

The scheme is being handled by the Impact Partnership, a joint venture including Rochdale Borough Council, consultant Mouchel and IT specialist Agilisys.

Rob Dawson, Impact's streetlighting PFI project director, said: "The collaboration of the two local authorities has not only provided significant commercial interest, but has meant that both councils have been able to minimise the cost of the project.

"The next stage of the process will be to ensure that all residents get their say on how the work progresses."