Street light repairs carry on as cabinet extends contract for a year

The company that maintains Brighton & Hove’s street lights will carry on for another year. The Labour-run council’s cabinet agreed on Thursday 15 October to extend its contract with Colas Limited for up to 12 months from 1 November, at an estimated £1.3m.

The contract covers 19,988 lamp posts and wall-mounted lights, 2,231 lit traffic signs, 194 illuminated bollards and 112 Belisha beacons. Under it, crews carry out routine maintenance, electrical testing, structural checks, emergency repairs and night scouting for lights that have gone out.

The report came from the cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, Labour councillor Trevor Muten. It says the extension “will not result in any changes to service levels” for residents.

The extra year buys time. The council wants a new £25m contract running for 10 years, and plans to go to the open market from March 2027 and award it in November 2027. Officers say the new deal will set performance targets on quality, cost and carbon, and cover upkeep of the city’s heritage lamp posts. About 250 of those are listed.

The catch is that this contract started in 2018 for four years. It has already been extended twice, and every extension option in it has now been used. Officers looked at other ways to buy the service, but said moving to a new provider now would likely mean a loss of service during the handover.

The decision can be called in until 23 October, and takes effect on 24 October if it isn’t.

If a light near you is out, the council asks you to report it. Contractors aim to check it within five working days, and most minor faults are fixed on that visit.