Last updated at 16:47, Monday, 03 December 2012

LED lighting installed throughout council buildings in South Lakeland is set to save the authority £21,000 this year.

All bulbs have been replaced in properties owned by South Lakeland District Council with LED counterparts as part of the authority’s on-going commitment to the environment.

Councillor Clare Feeney-Johnson, the authority’s environment and sustainability chief, said the figure took into account installation and maintenance costs.

She told members of SLDC’s cabinet committee: “We are seeing a huge reduction in the cost of lighting our buildings. Many people have not even noticed the difference in the lighting itself which is now installed in properties throughout the district.”

Cllr Feeney-Johnson added: “We are now looking into the possibility of LED street lighting in areas that we have responsibility for.

“It’s something we need to consider for the future.”

But the meeting heard SLDC is set to miss its target of reducing CO² emissions by 25 per cent between 2008 and March 2013. The figure was set as part of the Nottingham Declaration in 2000.

Instead the authority is on track to achieve a reduction of 17 per cent.

“The sheer mileage and amount of fuel needed for us to carry out recycling and waste collections means that we are at a disadvantage when it comes to reducing CO² emissions,” Cllr Feeney-Johnson said.

“The only councils to have hit the target are small urban authorities.

“But we have made excellent progress which we expect to continue.”

First published at 16:17, Monday, 03 December 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk