A RURAL council has uveiled a 10-year plan to address the challenging issue of rural footway lighting.

The programme to address footway lighting provision in rural areas was agreed by Eden District Council - including upgrading some footway lighting at a projected cost of £1m.

The council has been working with parish and town councils for over a year to develop a long-term solution to the provision of footway lighting in rural areas.

A scrutiny group of district councillors has also considered the issue.

Mike Tonkin, Eden's portfolio holder for the environment, said: "Finding a long-term solution to rural footway lighting provision was never going to be easy.

"The solution Council has agreed is sustainable and affordable, especially given the current financial climate.

"Members and officers have worked very hard to address the concerns of local communities and we appreciate that the agreed outcome initially maybe not be well received by everyone."

The issue of rural footway lighting rose its head after Electricity North West announced in 2011 that it would be removing footway lights from their electricity transmission poles.

This was due to potential liabilities following the death of a BT linesman who was electrocuted whilst repairing telephone equipment sited on a pole.

All footway lights which are retained will have to be fitted with new LED fittings to comply with new legislation.

New lighting or replacement columns will have to be provided in many cases.

The costs of replacing, repairing and renewing the footway lights, which are in addition to the usual maintenance expenses, will be substantial.

In Eden District, there are 1,582 footway lights, 681 of which are situated on telegraph poles. Replacing this lighting stock would cost the Council over £1 million.

In December 2012, the council agreed a footway lighting policy; this contained criteria for assessing, maintaining and retaining footway lighting.

A working group of councillors and officers reviewed the criteria prior to a council meeting on 20 February, to agree final recommendations for members to consider.

The council approved the recommendations so an extra 77 lights now meet the criteria, many of which were listed as a high priority by parish councils.

In total, a minimum of 603 footway lights now meet the criteria. There will be a further assessment of the lights for each rural settlement and a final decision will be made during this year, it is expected.

This is still "work in progress". It is estimated it will cost in the region of £1 million to upgrade the lights over a ten-year period. The proposals do not affect lights which are maintained by the county council.

A number of footway lights on main roads will be offered to Cumbria County Council and lights on social housing will be offered to Eden Housing Association to maintain.

The remaining 815 lights, which do not meet the criteria, will continue to be maintained by the District Council until they need replacing or they are taken down by Electricity North West Limited or are adopted by other parties such as parish councils.

Councillor Tonkin said: "The criteria we have agreed does provide a fair and rational basis to assess what footway lights are needed and should be retained in an area.

"Parish councils will have the opportunity to highlight any special circumstances they have for retaining a footway light, for example where it is providing for the needs of a vulnerable groups, and these cases will be examined by a group of members and officers.

Some £100,000 will be allocated for capital works on footway lighting in 2014/2015. This would be the first year of a ten year programme in addition to any monies being provided by Electricity North West.

Councillor Tonkin said: "We are seeking to transfer responsibility for lights on A or main roads to the county council, who are the highways authority.

"It is not a statutory requirement for district councils to provide footway lighting, so rural councils do not receive any money from government to provide it."