An award-winning £85m PFI project for Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council carried out by a partnership between Laing Roads, Barclays European Infrastructure Fund and Amey, the support services specialist, has completed a landmark by replacing over 18,000 street lighting columns in under two and a half years.

Under the terms of the contract, Amey was mandated by a special purpose company (owned by Laing and Barclays) to upgrade and maintain the council’s entire street lighting stock, comprising approximately 26,000 units, of which 18,000 had reached the end of their useful life and needed replacing within five years.  Amey completed this undertaking in record time with a team of 133 workers who replaced street lights on approximately 856 kilometres of road.

The Walsall lighting contract is widely cited as a template for other local authorities who are seeking to upgrade their public lighting infrastructures, demonstrating the twin advantages of the PFI procurement route as well as delivering benefits to the local communities.  The partners in the project established a state of the art customer liaison system to rapidly handle queries and complaints. Modern street lighting schemes have been shown to reduce crime and road traffic accidents, as well as providing communities with a safer and more attractive environment to live and work in.

Peter Couldery, director of Laing Roads and a director of the project company said today:  “The project will enable Walsall to meet one of its key priorities – ensuring that the community feels safer and more secure as a result of improved street lighting.  As investors we feel proud that our direct involvement has led to a successful outcome for the project.  We look forward to continuing our role at Walsall for the remaining years of the concession.”

Chris Webster, managing director of Amey Infrastructure Services (AIS), said: “We are very proud of success in Walsall and feel that Amey and its partners’ achievement truly demonstrate how a partnership of the public and private sector can deliver real benefits to a community.”

Notes to editors

1.       For further information please contact Christine Jones on 020 7901 3200 or Sofia Rehman on 020 7930 0777.

2.       Laing Roads, a division of John Laing plc, is now the UK's leading investor in PFI street lighting projects with a portfolio of 11 projects including: the Walsall, Wakefield and Manchester street lighting projects, the M40, M6, A130, A55, Sirhowy Enterprise Way and the Severn River Crossing, Tieyhtiö Nelostie (Finland’s first privately financed infrastructure project), the E39 road (Norway’s first PPP project).

3.       Barclays European Infrastructure Fund is managed by Barclays Private Equity Limited.  

4.       AIS is the newly formed business division of Amey PLC and brings together the strengths and capabilities of the well-established and successful Amey Highways, Amey Rail and Amey Fleet Services businesses into a single integrated organization.

The new organization is structured to deliver services through five business streams:

• Professional Services
• Strategic Highways
• Rail
• Local Government
• Operational Services

5.        AIS is the industry leader in the street – lighting PFI market, and is responsible for providing design, installation and maintenance to Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council,  Manchester City Council and Wakefield District Council’s street-lighting PFI’s.

6.       The success of the Walsall project was recognised by the award to the Project Team of the ‘Best Transport Project 2003’ at the Public Private Finance Congress Awards in London.