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£32m plan to replace Harrow's street lights shelved (From Harrow Times)
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Original Comment
I am pleased to say that I played a major part in torpedoing this PFI folly. I produced a report in 2006 questioning its viability. At the time it was for about 25 million. It didn't take into account EDF hiking the connection rates by 30%, proposed a 30% increase in the number of streetlights and most importantly did NOT cover the cost of the electric bill. The current number of lights consume another 975 kilowatts. The old-fashioned lights use about 37watts apiece. The brighter new lights over 70watts each. The PFI locked us into not only replacing the old lights with new, but putting in 30% more, making the total consumption at leaf 1.8 Megawatts, nearly double. The cost of power was not covered by the PFI and with the soaring cost of electricity would have added substantially to costs, on top of repaying the loan. It would have been incredibly bad value, which we were not prepared to drop onto residents. Labour can moan, all they want, as I know had they signed this flawed document, we would have been locked into debt for 25 years. There childish bleatings prove that they have learned nothing and are unfit to run a bath. I would be happy to discuss this. Also there a bilions in PFIs "off the books" that Labour have hidden. Lord help us after we get these pillocks out of power.
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£32m plan to replace Harrow's street lights shelved
9:10am Tuesday 9th February 2010
THE CHANCE to use £32m of Government money to replace many of Harrow's ageing street lights was passed up, it is revealed.
Harrow Council was selected for the multi-million-pound loan to install around 14,000 brighter and more efficient street lights on the borough's roads.
However, when questioned by the Harrow Times, the council revealed the project had now been shelved.
Councillor Susan Hall, deputy leader of the council, said the scheme – a public finance initiative (PFI) – had been passed up because of the financial implications to the council.
She said: “The recession impacted severely on a number of ambitious schemes and the street lighting programme unfortunately fell into that category.
"While the Department for Transport recognised, and still does recognise, the merit of our proposal, it was irresponsible of us to commit to £1 million a year over 25 years - a key condition of the PFI contract - given the unprecedented financial pressures on us caused by the credit crunch.”
The Labour administration applied for the PFI contract in 2006, but it was granted after the Tories came to power.
In October 2008, Cllr Hall and Councillor Tony Ferrari, who is in charge of major contracts, held a press conference to announce the council was looking for companies to carry out the work over five years, in order to lower the cost of street lighting and reduce fear of crime.
Councillor Bill Stephenson, leader of the opposition Labour group, criticised the Tory administration for letting the opportunity go.
He said: “They have given this chance away by failing to act.
“There are a lot of roads and alleyway which already have dimmed lights, and this is inevitably going to lead to a rise in the fear of crime if the streets of Harrow are darker at night.
“It is a real missed chance that probably won't come up again.”
The council said it remained “committed to an upgrade programme for street lighting” and would go back to the Government when the economy had stabilised.
But Cllr Stephenson said the Government was unlikely to give Harrow the chance again after it did not take up the PFI offer on the table.
What do you think? Should the council have taken up the PFI contract to replace the street lights? Leave your comments below.
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