Street lighting 

Street lighting emergencies

We will attend any street light if there is an immediate danger or an emergency.  

For emergencies you should call during working hours on 0300 123 5020 or outside of working hours on 0300 123 5025.

You should call us if:

• The lantern is hanging down
• The column door is missing or wires are exposed
• The column is leaning
• The column was hit in a road traffic collision

We do not consider a light out or a flickering light to be an emergency.

Who looks after street lights

We look after most street lights, illuminated signs and traffic sign bollards on adopted roads in Cheshire East.

We carry out a routine inspection of our lights every 6 years by area. Our inspections pick up any defects that are structurally or electrically unsafe. 

Housing associations may look after lighting on or near their property.

Developers look after street lighting on new developments until we have adopted the lighting. Once we have adopted it then we will take over responsibility. You should contact the developer direct to report any issues with their lighting.

Town and parish councils look after some street lighting on adopted roads and you should report any issues with them to your town or parish council.  

Any lighting on a Cheshire East Council car park should be reported to our Parking Services team.

When to report an issue with a street light

We do not frequently inspect street lights and illuminated signage and bollards to check that they are working, so if you notice a problem, please report it to us.

If the situation is not dangerous, such as a light out or a flickering light then you should report this online using our report it tool.

Report a street light issue

It is helpful if you can give us either the column number as written on the lamp post or a nearby house number or landmark so it can be easily located.

We provide street lighting to light public roads and pavements, helping road users see potential hazards.  We do not recommend you rely on street lighting to protect you or your property.

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After you report a street light issue 

After you report a street light issue

After you have reported an issue we will investigate the problem.

When we carry out repairs we give priority to faults that present the greatest risk to safety.

We will attend an emergency situation within 1 working day. We will look at other reported faults within 20 working days. If we are unable to repair the reported issue straight away we will let you know more about the repair work we need to do.

Light intrusion caused by street lights 

Repairing street lights 

If street lighting is causing light intrusion into your property then you should let us know by logging it through our online report it tool.

We will try to address the issue, but we must also maintain a certain level of lighting onto the highway.

Street light provision and improvements

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Street lighting provision 

Street lighting provision

At the moment, we have a policy to not install more street lights within Cheshire East. Any extra lighting installed will be as part of new developments, adjustments to the existing highway and projects funded by other sources.

If you want to move a street light as part of your dropped kerb application you will need to pay the associated costs. The costs for this can vary so please contact us for a quote. We are not always able to move the street light and if we reject your request we will contact you to explain why.

Find out more information on how to apply to re-locate an existing street light and how much it costs on our moving a street light page. 

LED street lighting improvements 

LED street lighting improvements

Our light emitting diode (LED) programme was completed in 2018. As part of the council's carbon neutral target, 39,000 street lights across the borough were replaced with LEDs, saving 381 tonnes of CO₂ per year. 

Decorative lights

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Page last reviewed: 10 July 2023