PLANS to replace all traditional street lights in Craven with a more sustainable option are due to be discussed by county councillors.

Councillors will on Tuesday consider a report on a business case proposing the replacement of all street lights in North Yorkshire with LED technology.

There are already a number of street lights in Skipton where original lights have been replaced with LED due to faults.

But, if councillors agree to go ahead, all street lights will be fitted with the new, money saving and more efficient technology, over the next two years.

County councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways, said: “LED streetlights have many benefits over conventional options. For a start, they are more environmentally friendly, as they can play a significant part in reducing carbon emissions. They also use far less energy and come on instantly without a warm-up period."

Cllr Mackenzie said they were also very cost effective to run, which the council had to take into account as it sought to manage reduced budgets.

“Lamp replacement costs are lower and maintenance visits are usually only needed every six years. In a large, mainly rural area such as North Yorkshire this would be a great benefit to residents in outlying, hard-to-reach areas as well as achieving a significant ongoing financial savings."

The council has already replaced several hundred cast iron lighting columns with steel replacements in Harrogate in 2015.

"Generally speaking, residents have been very pleased with the quality of lighting provided by the LEDs, whose light can more easily be focused down to street level with less glare in the sky and unwanted illumination of upstairs rooms in houses," said Cllr Mackenzie.

Currently, the council maintains 20,400 streetlights, costing around £2.1 million to power, and £1.2 million to maintain every year. The new LED equipment would cost around 40 per cent less to power. The council estimates that the new lights would pay for themselves in ten years and would also require less maintenance.

It is planned that the new LED lanterns would be installed on the existing street lampposts. In most cases, there would be no change to what is there currently, although a small number will need to be replaced to accommodate the new technology.