Cumbria County Council is currently investing in the renewal and refurbishment of street lighting equipment across the county, with Alston’s Front Street one of the first schemes to be included in the project. The installation is part of a package of improvement schemes and investment in Alston throughout 2019.

Teams have this week taken receipt of the brand new heritage lighting equipment, and have now begun the process of installation.  The lights are all expected to be operational following successful service connections by Friday 8 March.

The new equipment will replace existing wall and column-mounted lanterns on Front Street with new ‘gas mantle style’ heritage LED lanterns, which will be more in-keeping with the historic nature of Alston.

The new lighting is warm white in appearance and emits less light pollution so is particularly suitable, and popular, in areas with ‘dark skies’ like Alston.  As part of this investment programme the wall brackets and columns will also be freshly painted.

In addition to replacing the lanterns, teams will also be installing several new lighting columns between existing locations.  These are original cast iron columns which have been carefully restored and refurbished, ensuring that they will complement the existing columns in the town, and further enhance the heritage of Alston.

Work is now underway and is expected to take approximately three weeks to complete.   A plan of the work can be found online at cumbria.gov.uk/alstonfrontstreet and at Alston Local Links.  This work is part of the council’s ongoing commitment to Alston, with a variety of improvement schemes ongoing or programmed. This includes the redevelopment of Front Street, which will be subject to further consultation with the local community, as well as the refurbishment of the town centre monument, and the new lighting installations.

Commenting on the new lighting, Cllr Claire Driver, Local Member for Alston, said:

“I am delighted that the new lighting installation is now underway.  The refurbished lights will make it safer for residents during the hours of darkness, are much more in keeping with the traditional heritage of our town, and are environmentally friendly.  It's great to see part of the programme of investments in Alston by the council brought to life - investments which we hope will improve the town for years to come.  There is a great deal of activity happening in Alston Moor at present, so keep up to date by following the county council on social media, and be sure to visit the council’s website for the latest news and to find out how your views can help shape the future of the town.”