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A £2.1m upgrade to all streetlights in Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood by moving them onto LED bulbs has been set in motion by Nottinghamshire Council.

The council’s cabinet has approved the investment, which will see 11,000 streetlights across the two districts replaced with carbon-saving bulbs.

Work will now get under way on converting the streetlights, with completion expected by April 2023.

It will be the final stage of the council’s streetlight LED conversion programme across Nottinghamshire.

Bassetlaw is to see every streetlamp upgraded to LED bulbs to reduce Nottinghamshire's carbon footprint.

The programme began in 2014, with 85,000 streetlights across the county already converted, resulting in 90,000 tonnes of carbon saved.

The LED conversion programme is seen as a ‘driving force’ towards the council’s goal of becoming carbon neutral in all its activities by 2030.

Coun Neil Clarke, council cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “It is great news that thousands of streetlights will be upgraded to carbon-saving LED bulbs.

“I’m pleased we’ve agreed to provide the £2.1m needed to fund the transformation and look forward to our partners at Via East Midlands getting to work replacing the old lanterns.

“The streetlight improvements are the final two pieces of a hugely successful near-decade long programme by our highways team across our county.

“This is an investment which makes perfect sense, as failing to replace the old streetlights would result in increased maintenance costs for taxpayers and the risk of harm to our precious environment.”

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Coun Mike Adams, council environment ambassador, said: “This excellent LED conversion programme, which has already saved thousands of tonnes of carbon, is a driving force behind our goal to become a carbon neutral council within the next eight years.

“We’ve got plenty of other ongoing projects to help towards our 2030 target - including a carbon reduction plan for our council buildings and a hugely ambitious programme to plant thousands of new trees across Nottinghamshire’s green spaces.

“All of this climate-friendly activity is part and parcel of meeting our Nottinghamshire Plan ambition to protect our environment and reduce the council’s carbon footprint.”

Speaking in the cabinet meeting, Coun Clarke said it will save the authority £600,000 per year in energy costs across the two districts.

He said: “This is something that’s proven because it’s the last piece in the county jigsaw.”

Bassetlaw to benefit from £2.1m streetlight LED upgrade to reduce carbon footprint