A COUNCIL scheme to replace more than 40,000 street lights looks set to finally be completed by the summer.

Northumberland County Council has been installing modern, energy- efficient LED lights across the district for the past three years.

LED lights are 64 per cent more efficient than conventional bulbs, and the energy savings provided by the new lights amount to £1.3m.

The project has been stalled since October, when the main sub-contractor for electrical and civil engineering works went into administration.

After two months of searching, contractor Galliford Try has now found a replacement and the project is back on track.

Coun. Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for environment and local services, said: “These lights have made a great improvement in many areas, improving both driver and pedestrian safety, as well as delivering good levels of energy savings.

“This has been an extremely ambitious project which has presented a number of technical challenges, which our teams have been working tirelessly to overcome to complete all works.

“We appreciate people’s patience and support during the project so far and we are working closely with our contractor to ensure that the remaining works are carried out swiftly, with minimal disruption.”

But the installation of LED lights has been questioned since the project began.

In areas such as Bellingham there have been claims that they do not light up a wide enough area and leave areas of darkness between lamp posts.

However, the LEDs help to preserve the dark sky status of the area.

The replacement of street lights in the district is expected to be completed in the spring, with work in the rest of the county continuing through to summer.