A NEW strategy is set to ensure that all street lights in Wirral remain switched on while at the same time delivering better energy efficiency and long-term budget savings.

Wirral Council’s ruling cabinet agreed to invest in new LED-style street lighting when it met earlier this month, with a meeting of full council approving the strategy on Monday.

A key element of the strategy will be the replacement of around 7,000 of the most inefficient street lights with brand new LED units.

The plan to retrofit LED lighting units, including central management system, to existing street lighting columns is estimated to cost £4.3 million.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham, cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: “Investing this money now will save us money in the long term as we will have a better and more efficient lighting network with lower carbon emissions.

“This has become possible now, as LED lanterns have come down in price in the past year, and are now more reliable that traditional lighting units, with manufacturers offering up to 12 years’ guarantees

“We are happy that, due to good budget management, we've been able to find the proposed savings that would have been achieved by last year's option to switch off some streetlights from other areas without needing to implement any new cuts to services."

Speaking earlier this month, Oxton Lib Dem Cllr Stuart Kelly, who has campaigned against the switch off policy, said he welcomed the “u-turn”.