£280k of your money to go on new lighting for advertising posters in Leeds City Region

Plans to buy 5,300 new bulbs to illuminate advertising posters in the region’s bus shelters will go before West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s transport committee later this week.

The authority claims the new environmentally friendly LED lighting tubes will help reduce CO2 emissions by one third, and is expected to take around six months to complete.

The scheme is expected to cost £282,726 in total, but WYCA believes the authority will save a significant amount in electricity costs.

A report going before councillors states: “In order to reduce the combined authority’s annual revenue costs for the supply of electricity to illuminate the advertising panels it is proposed to replace the existing T8 florescent lighting tubes and associated electrical installations with T8 LED lighting tubes.

“There are approximately 5,300 tubes to replace in the 1,719 advertisement panels at various locations throughout West Yorkshire.

“The scheme will contribute to the delivery of SEP Indicator on EnvironmentalSustainability, reducing CO2 emissions for the shelters converted by aroundtwo thirds.”

The report added that the lights would contribute to a “significant reduction” in electricity costs.

A WYCA spokesperson said: “While there is an initial cost to this conversion, as with other initiatives there is a need to spend to save both in terms of energy consumption and the pollution it creates.

“As well as being forecast to pay for itself within three to four years through a reduction in energy bills, this conversion will reduce the combined authority’s annual carbon footprint for advertising panel lighting by 278 tonnes a year, the carbon equivalent of travelling more than to the moon and back in a 4x4 or 278 return flights to New York.

“The use of new long-life of the LED tubes will also result in the need for the manufacture and disposal of 11,000 fewer standard fluorescent tubes, representing a further environmental savings, in line with the combined authority’s overall aims for the local transport network.”

A decision on the scheme is expected at WYCA’s transport committee meeting on Friday. If approved, the new lights are expected to be fitted by May 2019.