The Croydon & Lewisham Street Lighting Joint Committee met on Tuesday, 4 November 2025. The meeting included an update on the Joint Street Lighting Private Finance Initiative (PFI), and a review of the service provider's performance between September 2024 and August 2025. Councillors were also scheduled to appoint a chair and vice-chair for the 2025-2026 municipal year.

Joint Street Lighting PFI Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Joint Street Lighting Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The report pack included a summary of the service provider's overall performance between September 2024 and August 2025.

The report detailed the service provider's adherence to several performance standards:

• PS1 – Core Investment Programme: This related to the design and installation of new apparatus during the five-year Core Investment Programme (CIP), which concluded on 31 October 2016.
• PS2 - Planned Maintenance, Inspection and Testing: This standard covers the planned maintenance, inspection, and testing of street lighting equipment.
• PS3 - Operational Responsiveness and Reactive Maintenance: This standard relates to the service provider's responsiveness in attending to faults within the relevant time period.
• PS4 - Contract Management and Customer Interface: This standard relates to the customer care and contract management service, including the Management Information System (MIS) and Customer Care System (CCS).
• PS5 - Strategic Assistance and Reporting: This standard ensures the service provider offers accurate and timely information to the councils regarding its performance.
• PS6 - Working Practices: This standard requires the service provider to operate day-to-day working practices correctly and safely.
• PS7 - Reporting to the Authority: This ensures the service provider offers accurate and complete reporting to the councils.
• PS9 - Central Management System: This relates to the operation of the Central Management System (CMS) installed to all streetlights.

The report pack noted that the councils have variant lighting level policies.

Lewisham introduced their variant lighting level policy in November 2016 which received Mayor and Cabinet approval. To date we are receiving very few enquiries in relation to the introduction of this policy. Any safety concerns raised involve carrying out lighting level checks to ensure the road in question is compliant. On a few occasions we have raised the dimming profile back upto 100% functionality to alleviate any safety fears. Croydon introduced their Street Lighting Policy in February 2023. Again as above for Lewisham we have received minimal enquiries regarding our variant lighting level policy and carry out the same procedures.

The report pack also included carbon emission data from street lighting in both boroughs. It noted that while annual consumption has decreased since 2019/20, total annual CO2 emissions have also decreased due to the decarbonisation of the UK electricity grid¹.

The report recommended that the committee:

• Note the performance of the Service Provider regarding the street lighting PFI for September 2024 - August 2025.
• Approve the proposed unitary charges for 2025/6 of £2.978m for Croydon and £1.675m for Lewisham (based on a 64% to 36% split).
• Approve the forecasted contract management and monitoring costs for 2025/6 of £185,254 for Croydon and £104,205 for Lewisham (based on 64% to 36% split).

Other business

The agenda included:

• Appointment of a Chair and Vice-Chair for the Croydon & Lewisham Street Lighting Joint Committee for the 2025-2026 municipal year.
• Apologies for absence.
• Approval of the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 10th December 2024.
• Disclosure of interests.
• Urgent business.
• A motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting, citing the likely disclosure of exempt information.