Save Ealing Antique Lampposts (SEAL) Introduction SEAL is a local residents' special interest group, which has successfully fought for the retention of Ealing's antique, cast-iron lampposts, many of which have graced the streets of South and West Ealing for up to 100 years. In 2006, Ealing Council said that there were 1,116 of these lampposts in use.
But thanks to a unique collaborative effort by Councillors, Council Officers and SEAL lasting over 18 months some 700 antique cast-iron posts have been refurbished and installed, with modern lanterns, in over 70 streets in West Ealing, South Ealing and central Ealing.
This site recounts the remarkable story of how most of the antique cast-iron lampposts have been saved and re-used. It's a story with trials, tribulations and triumphs!
SEAL has now known for over two years that the lampposts can be restored and the lanterns upgraded just as cheaply as installing new, modern lampposts. We also know that all relevant EU/UK guidelines, standards and regulations for street lighting can be met. The refurbished and updated lampposts can offer lighting and safety standards comparable with the proposed modern replacements - as well as retaining the Victorian and Edwardian ambience in our streets. 
Example of an original Ealing Antique Lamppost. Mark Kehoe of Ealing Civic Society has written the defining publication on Ealing's antique, cast-iron lamp columns (click on below to view 'Cast-Iron Lamp Columns in the Borough of Ealing').
Prior to very recent history, the cast-iron lampposts and their lanterns were last renovated and maintained properly in the 1980s. In 1994, the Council's street lighting was outsourced.
Street Lighting PFI Signed in 2005
In 2002, Ealing Council consulted about street lighting with some of Ealing's Conservation Panels. Ealing residents and Ealing residents' groups were not consulted. In 2005, Ealing Council signed a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement with the French Government (through the vehicle of Electricite de France (EDF) which is 80% owned by the French Government). This contract was negotiated with EDF and signed behind closed doors. This agreement handed over the responsibility for the replacement and maintenance of Ealing street lighting and illuminated signs to EDF Energy till 2030. Part of the terms of the contract are the replacement of 14,720 Ealing street lampposts with ‘modern' lampposts by 2010. The May 2005 Ealing Council Business Case for the PFI mentions '£25.275 million of PFI credits' - a grant - which sounds like quite an 'inducement'. It appears that the total cost of handing over street lighting responsibility to the French Government was some £57 million ie around £32 million in actual cash (taking the grant into consideration) or around £2 million per year. A Council Officer verbally estimated in 2007 that the total amount of money to be paid to the PFI company including inflation will amount to £120 million by 2030.
Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) - A Quickish Study
The original PFI idea was first penned by Conservative MP David Willets in the early 1990s. The idea was to find a way of involving private companies in the funding of new schools and hospitals. Chancellor Norman Lamont announced PFI in his 1992 Autumn Statement. The initial PFI incarnation was not that attractive to the private sector - it involved too much risk for them - and by 1996 only a few schemes got off the ground and only £1 billion of debt was incurred, however some of the schemes were 60 years in duration! Chancellor Gordon Brown MP and Geoffrey Robinson MP during the first term of the Blair New Labour Government in 1997 restuctured the PFI offering and aided by KPMG, Deloitte and PwC transferred most of the risk from the private sector onto the public sector. The prevailing axiom at the time was 'public money expensive and bad: private money cheap and good'. PFI activity exploded and long term debt for the taxpayer grew and grew.
'Hidden' PFI National Debt
There are now over 850 PFI schemes (now also called Public Private Partnerships - PPP) signed off with annual debt repayments in 2008 of over £7.5 billion. Over £5 billion has been paid out to consultants to set up these PFI schemes. An increasing number of PFI/PPP schemes are running unsustainable debts. The total debt to be paid off, mostly over the next 25 years, was estimated by Stewart Hosie, the SNP'S Treasury spokesman in November 2008 at £216 billion.
Some hospital PFIs have already made obscene profits for investors - sometimes as much as 60% returns on investments. Sadly private debt is proving more costly than public debt. Many intelligent commentators are calling for the abandonment of PFI/PPP and the re-introduction of 'public borrowing as the basis of public investment'. The idea that some of these PFI/PPPs will not be 'bought out' or 're-structured' is fanciful. Some PFI/PPPs have already collapsed - one of the most spectacular and expensive of these was Metronet.
The University of Edinburgh weighed in with some alarming PFI numbers in August 2009. With 149 new hospitals being funded by PFI schemes, the average PFI debt being carried by each of them is £473 million. However the average value of each of these hospitals is £82.5 million. PFI finanacing at these hospitals eats up 8.3% of annual hospital budget, whereas at conventionally public funded hospitals the equvalnt figure is lower at 5.8%. More than half of the larger PFI financed hospitals are in financial difficulties whereas only a quarter of non-PFI hospitals are similarly troubled.
The UK's budget deficit (in September 2009 it was £824.8 billion) is one of Europe's highest but this doesn't include the PFI debt which is Enron-style 'off balance sheet'. in 2008, the Government said that in 2009 it will bring the currently 'off balance sheet' PFI debt onto the balance sheet. At that point everyone will see just how big the long term PFI national debt actually amounts to. Strngely this had snot yet happened....
Given that the UK is in a Depression the like of which no-one living in the UK has seen, the PFI debt has got lost in the current financial mayhem. This financial mayhem - where credit and loans are in scarse supply - has brought the whole new PFI/PPP projects to a grinding halt. So long promised new hospitals and schools will be shelved.....unless....
HM Treasury still insists it will not intervene to force PFI prices down. This attitude is inflating the ongoing revenue costs for PFI costs borne by local authorities - and this of course includes Ealing Council and its payments to the current Ealing PFI street lights 'owner' Scottish and Southern Energy.
Public debt is expected to reach 76.2% of GDP by 2013/14 (from 59% right now) but, bizarrely, these figures include only a tiny proportion of the £65 billion+ borrowing undertaken so far under PFI.
One wonders whether our children will thank us in the future for running up so much long-term debt that they, in their adult lives, will have to pay off.
Cast-iron Removal Starts in Woodstock Avenue in 2006...
The replacement of the cast-iron, antique lampposts began in Woodstock Avenue in 2006. Local residents immediately raised concerns about the height and effectiveness of the new, tall, black, slim 'lantern on a stick' lampposts. These lampposts have lanterns at their top which shine into people's bedrooms. They also, because of their height, have much of their light blocked by trees in the summer. EDF's response to the latter complaint was for Ealing Council '...to cut the trees appropriatelty'. Neither of these problems obtain with our antique lampposts as the lanterns 'sit' well below bedroom window height and below the full leafy splendour of our beautiful trees. So not only are we potentially looking at the destruction of our antique lampposts we are also looking at the destruction of our heritage trees. SEAL also requested to know who owns the antique Woodstock Avenue lampposts; what will happen to them; and who would profit from their sale in a refurbished form. Refurbished Edwardian and Victorian lampposts can be found for sale on the Internet for a range of prices - from £750 up to £1,200. Initially no-one could find the Woodstock lampposts but persistent enquires eventually seemed to locate them. SEAL pursued written answers to all these questions. SEAL was not allowed to view and inspect the removed cast-iron lampposts. It was rumoured that the Council has sold the posts for scrap.
...and Stops in Salisbury Road in 2006
The next antique lampposted road scheduled to be ‘re-lit' was Salisbury Road in September 2006. Residents protested and the preparatory work was suspended pending a review by the Council. Protesting residents were told by Council Officers and EDF Energy executives that it's not possible to renovate and update the old lampposts because they don't meet 'EU Regulations', and it is not possible to upgrade them to meet these regulations.
SEAL visited Imperial College London Linbrary and sourced the complete set of international street lighting standards and professional advice on their interpretation. EDF wrote to SEAL and pointed out that the so-called 6 metres height standard appears to have been a directive by Ealing Council based upon its view that 6 metres is an 'unofficial height standard nationally'.
The Council Leader said that the cost of replacing the antique lampposts with replica 'Heritage' lampposts would be £3.2 million ie £800,00/year for the next four years, which would be additional to the £95 million (£120 million minus the £25 million grant) already committed to be spent.
SEAL then began a campaign to contact as many local residents, who support the group's aims, to tell their local Councillors about their concerns. In December 2006, Salisbury Road residents received a SEAL leaflet on the issues involved; along with contact details of the six Salisbury Road Councillors. You can view this leaflet below.
In January and February 2007, SEAL was allowed supervised viewing of the PFI in Perceval House.
In February, SEAL published the SEAL 2007 report. This report provided compelling evidence that there are no street lighting standards, health and safety issues, legal liabilities or excessive cost imperatives which might preclude renovating and updating most of Ealing's cast-iron lampposts.
Council Leader Agrees to Cast-Iron Removal Temporary Moratorium- 28th February, 2007
On 28th February, 2007 the Council Leader met up with SEAL, other residents groups and Salisbury Road residents to discuss the contents of the report. At this meeting the Council Leader announced a temporary moratorium on the removal of cast-iron lampposts in the so-called Kehoe Area, which effectively lasted till 2008. The notes taken at that meeting can be found below.
On 1st March, 2007 the Council Leader emailed SEAL detailed comments on the SEAL 2007 Report from Ealing Council (EC) and EDF Energy.
SEAL reviewed and researched these comments and emailed its response to EC on 23rd April 2007. Our response took the form of expanding the SEAL 2007 Report to 39 pages and embedding in it our responses to the EC/EDF Energy comments. As well as this, we produced a four page overview of our position. On 1st May, 2007 we emailed both documents to all 15 West Ealing Councillors. SEAL also mailed a copy of the expanded SEAL report to EDF. As of 31st December 2009, no-one at EC, EDF Energy, or the 15 West Ealing Councillors has responded in any way with any comments on these documents.
Both these documents can be viewed below.
SEAL offered EC/EDF Energy a totally 'Green' restucturing of the PFI as it applies to meeting EU/UK international lighting standard guidelines. Less energy and less CO2 emisions can be achieved by lowering the level of standards-compliant lighting in residential streets from S2 to S3. Similarly energy and CO2 savings can be made by re-using the 1,100 cast-iron lampposts and not manufacturing 1,100 new steel ones.
EDF Energy Declines To Discuss the SEAL Concerns
On 2nd June, 2007 SEAL received a six line letter from an EDF Energy Director, who refused to discuss the content of SEAL's recent reports and advised us that the matter is being dealt with by Ealing Council.
Council's Senior Ranger Boss Requests Street Lighting PFI Variation
At the inaugural meeting of the informal Northfield Ward Forum on 7th June, 2007 Senior Ranger boss Phil Belman demanded a variation on the street lighting PFI. He said that street lights are being installed in Ealing parks and open spaces which are too bright and do not conform to open space lighting standards. He also quoted the guidance which relates to the requirement to devise a particular solution to solve a particular problem.
The Victorian Society Offers its Support
On 8th June, 2007 SEAL received a letter support from The Victorian Society. The Society viewed the PFI arrangements for the wholesale removal of our cast-iron heritage lampposts as 'very troubling'.
Ealing Friends of the Earth Voices its Concerns
On 26th June, 2007 Ealing Friends of the Earth voiced its concerns to SEAL that the brightest (S2) lighting of residential street lighting had been chosen in Ealing when no legal requirement for this level exists. EFoE doubted the necessity for a uniform high level of brightness and was concerned about the light pollution if everywhere is to be lit to this standard.
Requests for Action by Council Members and Officers Fall on Deaf Ears
On 12th June, 2007 SEAL wrote to Shahid Iqbal. the Council's Head of Highways Management, requesting that SEAL and its retained cast-iron specialist inspect the 100+ removed cast-iron lampposts in the Council's Greenford depot and test their condition though non-destructive testing. We were never allowed to inspect these posts and SEAL suspects they were sold off. As of 31st December 2009 SEAL still awaits a reply from Shahid Iqbal to this letter
On 15th June, 2007 SEAL wrote to the Leader of the Council and asked him to tell us what the Council's current thinking was on the cast-iron lamppost issue. He emailed a reply to SEAL to say that the Council was still working its way through the issues.
On 3rd August, 2007 WEN wrote to the Leader of the Council about SEAL. The Leader replied and said that he only really wanted to meet with SEAL again when he had a 'complete package to present and discuss'. As of 31st December 2009 the Council Leadier has still not met up with the SEAL committee.
Lamppost Removal Starts-up in Balfour, Cardiff and Salisbury Roads
In September 2007, damaged cast-iron lampposts were removed from Balfour, Cardiff and Salisbury Roads and replaced by new, steel lampposts. Councillors and Council Officers when asked why the antique posts were not repaired or replaced from stock were given a variety of different answers.
Council Leader Suggests A Way Forward
In November 2007, informal talks began between a SEAL Committee member and the Leader of the Council about how antique lampposts might be retained and maintained. The Leader came up with some positive suggestions.
In December 2007, two attempts were made by contractors to replace the cast-iron posts near St Mary's Church and those in York Road. Complaints to the Leader of the Council resulted in a rapid retreat by the contractors; removal of the new lampposts; and a return to the status quo.
Heritage Quarter (HQ) Street Lighting Project
On 5th February 2008, the Leader of the Council announced that £456,000 would be spent on retaining, renovating and updating some of Ealing's antique lampposts in his newly designated Heritage Quarter. The moratorium on cast-iron lamppost removal from the ground was also lifted with the promise that these posts would be extracted and retained as stock for re-use in the HQ. This announcement effectively validated SEAL's arguments about the viability of upgrading the antique posts to meet modern, international street lighting standards - first proposed in written proposals by SEAL to the Council in February 2007 and further confirmed in embellished proposals in April 2007.
In March 2008, Ealing's Street Lighting PFI contract was sold by the French Governmnet (EDF) to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). Many Ealing residents purchase their domestic electricity from SSE. So much for the French Government's long term 'interest' in Ealing's street lighting.
Between February, 2008 and October 2009 twenty six meetings have been held involving Council Officers, SEAL and Ealing Civic Society (ECS). Good progress has been made at these meetings in the specification and planning of the antique lamppost renovation and update programme for the HQ.
A trial was scheduled in Lyncroft Gardens and Green Avenue in November, 2008.
At ECS's prompting the Council applied for an English Heritage grant to fund this trial - but for various reasons the application was unsuccessful.
In the trial, various options including post spacing, heights, neck and lantern updates and colour schemes were to be presented. Lighting levels will be measured and public opinion solicited with regards to aesthetics. Four contractors submitted quotations in response to the Southern Electric Contracting's (SEC's) Invitation To Tender in July, 2008. (SEC is part of SSE).
In May, 2008 a Council Cabinet reshuffle resulted in Councillor Taylor been given responsibility for the HQ - although as of 29th October, 2009 he has shown no public interest at all in the street lighting aspect of this project.
Hanwell Residents cry 'Foul'!
It has to be pointed out that a vociferous group of Old Hanwell residents were very unhappy about losing their cast-iron posts, which would be refurbished/updated and re-used in the W13/W5 HQ. Instead they would get mock heritage replacements rather than refurbished/updated ones. The Council's Scrutiny process was invoked to review the issue. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee in August, 2008 rejected Hanwell residents' demands to keep their antique posts, or in fact to receive refurbished/updated replacements.
CIC Appointed to Refurbish and Update the Cast-iron Columns and Lanterns
In August, 2008 it was announced that The Cast Iron Company (CIC) of Guildford had been awarded the contract to update and renovate the antique lampposts. CIC (www.castiron.co.uk) removed over 50 cast-iron posts from the Greenford depot for refurbishing at their Guildford premises in August. SEAL's preferred colour scheme of dark green bases and the rest of the columns in cream was adopted on the project in August. This colour scheme matches the original Victorian street lighting livery.
In order to meet the PFI requirement for S2 lighting levels and to introduce new Bottom Boxes in the column bases, base extenders will be added at the column base by CIC. This raises the height of the refurbished posts to an average (optical) height of 5.1 metres. This is significantly taller than the current uncared for posts in situ.
On September 23rd, 2008 CIC showcased three refurbished, extended and painted cast-iron posts with new lanterns, which they had installed outside their Surrey workshops. In late September, 2008 a SEAL representative visited CIC in Surrey to view and discuss the installed renovated posts.
The Trial
On 2nd October, 2008 residents in Lyncroft Gardens and Green Avenue were informed that their posts would be replaced. This exercise began during the week of 3rd November, 2008. The week following this, renovated/updated cast-iron posts replacement for the uncared-for posts began in these two roads. The uncared-for posts were refurbished and updated by CIC and subsequently re-used in another part of the HQ. The Council consulted in November with HQ residents on the two types of lanterns and the green and cream Victorian colour scheme which are on display in Lyncroft Gardens and Green Avenue. Sadly by the end date of the consultation- on 28th November - not all the refurbished posts were fully installed or in fact working. Nor were they all working as of 18th December.
Public Consultation
We heard from the Council that there was a large, positive response from the public and the Wilsford lantern was massively chosen; the green and cream colour scheme totally endorsed; and a very high level of support was articulated for the HQ antique re-lighting project.
Implementation
Implementation of the project powered ahead in 2009. After a slow start rapid progress is now being made. Experimentation is ongoing to attempt to mininmise light pollution into bedrooms, especially in the Edwardian streets where the terraced houses have shallow gardens. In fact 'shields' have now been fitted into the lamps on the house-side in all roads. The yellow lamps used in the Trial have been replaced with lower energy white light lamps, which are being being deployed throughout the HQ.
Re-lighting is now underway in most of the 75 HQ streets. Altogether some 700 uncared for antique lampposts will be re-used in the HQ with the remaining servicable posts being re-used in parks and kept as replacement stock.
Refurbished antique posts were originally delivered and installed fully painted. However transit from the Wolerhampton foundry resulted in too much damage to the paint. So in Spring 2009 it was decided to deliver and ina stall the posts just coated with primer. These primed posts will be fully painted and the other factory painted in situ posts touched up towards the end of the project. The project is now expected to be completed by 6th November, 2009.
By 6th April, 2009 around 100 cast-iron post had been removed from Boston Manor streets for re-use in the HQ antique re-lighting project. By the end of April, 2009 work was well underway on the antique relighting of Disraeli Road, Sunnysdie Road and Cairn Avenue. At the end of the HQ lighting project all 700+ refurbished posts will be touched up with paint as required.
On 8th June, 2009 SEAL was told by Ealing Council that 128 ex-Ealing antique columns had been purchased from a 3rd party, to make up for any potential shortfall caused by antique columns which have proved unfit for re-use.te the project.
A casual review on 19th July 2009 of the 'densest' part of the HQ (Hessel to the north; Belsize to the south; Northcroft to the west; and Northfield Avenue to the east) reveals that massive progress has been made in recent weeks. The antique re-lighting of these ten streets is really storming ahead.
The relighting of the HQ with updated antique cast-iron lampposts officially ended on 30th November, 2009 - some three years after the formation of SEAL. 27 meetings were held with Street Lighting Officers during this period. The volunteers who set-up, attended and wrote up those meetings were Bob Gurd (ECS), Mark Kehoe (SEAL) and Eric Leach (SEAL/WEN).
SEAL with ECS are planning to meet with Council Officers in 2010 to review the completion of the project to re-light the HQ with refurbished cast-iron columns.
Lammas Park Road example of the 'old' antique lighting to the left and the 'new' Heritage lighting to the right.
The Leader of the Council is still very actively involved in supporting the re-lighting of the HQ with renovated and upgraded antique lampposts. He has assured SEAL that no more antique lamposts will be 'sold off'. He's kept his promise that they will all be removed from the ground, renovated, stored or re-used in the HQ. His formal walk round the HQ to inspect the antique re-lighting took place on 6th November, 2009.
A review meeting with SEAL, ECS and Council Lighting Officers will take place in January 2010 - to try and iron out any 'niggles' that still exist in the installed 700+ population of refurbished antique posts. Sadly local Councillors seem to want to take credit for the saving of the cast-iron lampposts and the HQ relighting project. Even worse some of them - who weren't involved at all - do not appear to have the common decency to give credit where credit is due.
This project to re-use these antique lighting artefacts is an inspiring example of how volunteer groups can work successfully with Council Officers and a local Councillor to meet the needs of the majority of local residents. Council Officers Sebastian Navaranjan and Jarvis Millwood deserve special credit for all their efforts in 2008 and 2009.
The SEAL group, founded in November 2006 is made up of Ealing residents and members of Ealing Civic Society, West Ealing Neighbours, Kingsdown Residents' Association, Lammas Residents' Association and Ealing Fields Residents' Association. Related links and articles:
Eric Leach
Last Updated 13 January, 2010
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SEAL
