PICKERING is in line for a revolutionary environmentally-friendly street lighting scheme.

A £300,000 project gets underway next month to replace 50 county council-owned lamp-posts on housing estate roads.

Plans for 15-week project will go on display at the town's Memorial Hall on Monday between 7pm and 9pm.

The need for the new scheme comes after an inspection by the county council identified around 300 lighting columns as structurally deficient and in need of replacement.

County councillor Peter Sowray, North Yorkshire's executive member for highways, said: "The importance of good street lighting can be easily overlooked.

"But it helps to create a safe night time environment by reducing crime, the fear of crime, and the number of severity of road accidents."

In many streets, the existing street column positions will be retained but in some columns will be re-sited or additional lighting columns will be installed.

To improve efficiency and reduce disruption to the public, the county council has joined forces with a newly-formed street lighting partnership which has adopted a conveyor belt system that ensures all street lighting works are completed in the shortest possible time, said Coun Sowray.

"The old column is removed, the new one erected, and the electricity service installed during one visit.

"The footway or verge is then re-opened with five working days. This system allows the county council to replace up to eight columns a day."

The money saved through the arrangement will enable the council to replace an extra 100 defective street lighting columns a year, he added.

This saving, with an additional £125,000 investment from the county council, has ensured that replacement works in Malton can be brought forward and will now be completed by the end of March, said Coun Sowray.