David Webster Limited Awarded Redcar & Cleveland PFI
Street Lighting Contract
Redcar and Cleveland Council has appointed David Webster Limited (DW), a subsidiary of ETDE and part of the Bouygues Construction Group, and LS Trillium (LST - previously Investors in the Community), as its service provider for the £46m Street Lighting Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Project.
The PFI Scheme is a Government-backed scheme, with £21.1 million from the
Government backed up by a £1 million a year maintenance commitment over
the next 25 years from the Council. Under the PFI Project (in a joint venture
with LST) DW will be responsible for replacing 15,000 columns - 85 per cent
of the existing stock - with modern, high quality lights with another 2,500
columns being added in a phased programme over the next five years.
Transport Minister Rosie Winterton said: "
The Government has provided
£21.1m in support of this important scheme as it will bring massive
improvements to Redcar and Cleveland. Most importantly, it will ensure better
lit roads and pavements, which will improve road safety and cut crime as well
as the fear of crime."
The Council's Leader Councillor George Dunning said: "
This is a massive
investment that has been waiting to happen for a very long time and will undoubtedly
be endorsed by every one of our residents. We are very pleased to
announce that a major national company, David Webster Limited, will be the
service provider for the project and will be delivering this vital service
over the next 25 years."
DW's Managing Director, Bertrand Richard said: "
We look forward to providing
our expertise on this prestigious PFI project and to improving the safety
of the streets to the benefits of the Borough and all its residents."
Councillor Mary Lanigan, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transportation and Planning,
explained: "
Our surveys show the importance the public places on
street lighting, with its rating as the third most important service, behind
waste collection/recycling and street cleaning."
"What the public may not realise, but we have acknowledged for
some time, is that the majority of our lighting stock doesn't meet the European
standards and thousands have now passed their 25-year life expectancy."
"We've even discovered that the space between them is too much
- that's why we're not only embarking on a replacement programme, but also
putting in thousands of new columns."
The contract starts on 1st September 2007. The first part will involve
extensive consultation with residents and other stakeholders, which will
result in the first new columns being installed in January 2008 - at the
start of a very intensive Core Investment Programme which will be completed
in three years.
