Street lighting

St Helens Borough Council is responsible for the management of approximately 750km of highway, which incorporates 23,900 street lights and 3,200 illuminated road signs and bollards.

How do I report a problem?

Emergencies

If you are reporting an emergency, please call our Contact Centre on 01744 676789 between 9am and 4pm on weekdays. Any time outside of those hours please call the Councils security team on 01744 676728.

An emergency is a dangerous situation requiring urgent attention, the following are considered as such:

• Any sparking or popping noises from inside the column
• Vandalised columns, sign posts or bollards
• Columns, sign posts, bollards or other electrical apparatus involved in a road traffic incident
• Door off/ hanging
• Wires exposed
• Bracket arm and lantern hanging or lantern open (lens or cover)
• Column leaning/ loose in the ground/ bent/ cracked
• Multiple lights out on a junction or in close proximity to one another
• Subway lighting out
• Zebra crossing lighting out
• School flasher light out

These will all be attended and assessed, and the appropriate action taken. Please only report emergencies via the phone number above.

Non-emergencies

All other faults regarding a street light or illuminated road sign or bollard should be reported using the Street Lighting Report It Form or by calling the St.Helens Contact Centre on 01744 676789.

Traffic Signal Faults

Any faulty traffic lights should be reported on the Traffic Lights Report It Form by selecting the traffic light option.

What we need to know......

Please provide the following details when you are reporting a fault, to allow us to resolve the problem as soon as possible;

• The address or postcode and any identifiable location information, for example 'outside house number 47', or 'to side of library steps'
• What the problem is - select the issue from the list on the form
• The street light number - this is usually on the light post at 3m high
• You can also upload photographs of the problem if you think it will help

We do not undertake night time inspections routinely but will do so when aware of certain issues to identify severity and scale. The issue will be inspected, and a work instruction ordered for the repairs when sufficient information has been gathered.  

Dead service connections

Unfortunately, there are occasions when there is an issue with the electrical supply into a column, meaning the main supply is no longer working. We will pass the fault over to the electricity company as this must be repaired by them and not the Council. The light cannot be repaired until the electrical supply has been restored and please be aware we have no input into the programming of their works.

Unadopted street lights

The Council only maintains lighting that has been adopted and transferred from the housing developer to the Council, which can take several years to complete. Until the lighting is adopted, the responsibility to maintain and repair the lighting remains with the developer, land owner or management company.