More than a hundred street lights in Colchester are “inoperative” and still waiting to be fixed, it has been revealed.

The ward councillor for Old Heath, Hythe, and Rowhedge, Lee Scordis, has claimed that Essex Highways is not treating the much-needed repairs as a priority as they need to be replaced by the newer LED lights.

This is because of Essex Highway’s on-going plan to install thousands of LED lights across Colchester and the county.

It’s in effort to provide more efficient and environmentally friendly street lights that save around 75 per cent of energy compared to the non-LED bulbs.

Mr Scordis has called on the council to fix these lights. 

He said: "Residents are being literally left in the dark by Essex Highways by Highways refusing to repair street lights that are not LED lights. 

Gazette: Unhappy - Councillor Lee Scordis in ColchesterUnhappy - Councillor Lee Scordis in Colchester (Image: Councillor Lee Scordis)

“In areas of New Town, the street lighting is already poor and in one road with dangerous pavements, also neglected by Essex Highways, there is a whole stretch with no lighting.

“It has taken Essex Highways over a decade to install the number of LED lights they are up to so far and sadly local people are now suffering for their incompetence."

Mr Scordis said he had written to the cabinet member for highways, Tom Cunningham, about the issue and is yet to hear back.

Across the county itself, 115,000 older non-LED lights have been replaced, equating to 87 per cent of all street lights in Essex.

Gazette: Old - A photo showing how the non-LED street lights looked on North Station RoadOld - A photo showing how the non-LED street lights looked on North Station Road (Image: Newsquest)

The new lights can last up to 20 years, meaning that the taxpayer’s cost is reduced as bulbs would be replaced less frequently.

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “To make best use of our resources, we are not installing old sodium lanterns on street lights which are not working and are due to be replaced by LEDs, unless there are safety issues to consider.

“The street lights in Colchester which are waiting to be replaced are where more bespoke solutions are required, or there are engineering complications.

Gazette: New - A photo of of the LED street lights in North Station RoadNew - A photo of of the LED street lights in North Station Road (Image: Newsquest)

“We are working on solutions so these can be replaced as soon as possible.

“The 188 street lights which are not working represents a very small percentage, just 1.2 per cent, of the 15,632 total in Colchester.”