I am going to contact Skanska about what is happening with our street (Kilmorie Road). They put some of the new lights in weeks ago, on one side of the street, but they haven't been switched on. Workmen came along on bank holiday Monday, dug a load of holes, put fencing around the holes, and haven't been back since. It makes it impossible to walk down that side of the street, so I have to take my buggy and children into the road around the cars to get into my own house. It seems very slow progress.

I have lost the original letter, but I noticed earlier in this thread someone has posted the Skanska contact details, so thanks for that - lets see what they have to say!

Ah Jane2, welcome to the operating model of Skanska. They have for teams/visits for digging, teams/visits for installing the new post, teams/visits for old electrics, teams/visits for new electrics, teams/visits for turning on the new lights, teams/visits for turning off the old ones, teams/visits for removing the old lamp posts, teams/visits for filling holes, teams/visits for removing barriers, and so on.

Mayow Road - they started installing new lamp posts in February. Various teams come and go to do different things. Currently we have some new lights on, some off, some old lights on, some off, some removed. Some new lights properly concreted in, some still held with Tarmac. Barriers erected around new lights about two weeks ago and been there since.

The old light outside my house was removed a week ago. The new light opposite my house either hasn't been turned on or is faulty. I immediately sent a report via Love Lewisham and they passed it straight to Skanska. Light still not working.

some questions:
why are they putting up new lamp posts?
what was wrong with the old ones?
how much is this all costing?
council budgets are being cut to shreds - why replace perfectly good lamps now?

New ones are led so cast a more natural light, are much more energy efficient and are much brighter so have been proven to lower crime

They are much brighter.

I don't know what the current wattage is, but years ago when I worked in streetlighting the side roads had 35watt bulbs.

I thought the new lights were metal halide?
LED lights are still quite expensive.

The new lamps have arrived on Ackroyd Road and it looks like one is going to be right between our neighbours' house and our house (can't complain about it obviously, but what luck!). None are up yet so I don't know how high these are, but likely to be right outside our bedroom. One person on this thread has said they're not a bother - is that the consensus?

We had an old one right outside our bedroom window replaced with a new, taller one that brought the light right up to the level of our bedroom window. I've not noticed any increased intrusion of light and I'm the sort of person who puts bits of blutac over the little LED power lights on things as they annoy me at night!

Does anyone know what's happening with Taymount Rise?

There's a notice at the bottom of the hill stating work was to commence 21/05 I believe, and yet 1 post has been put up and that's it.

Very slow going.

Also the link to: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/SiteCollectio...earOne.pdf only details Catford, Bellingham and Perry Vale. Forest Hill was stated as year 2 on here: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/tr...tions.aspx yet there's no online PDF for year 2 online, even if you took a guess at this: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/SiteCollectio...earTwo.pdf

There is one new lamp post on Taymount Rise. I doubt it is switched on yet but at least there is a slight sign of progress.

Lots more lamp posts installed today on Taymount Rise.

I'm a bit further away, on the Lewisham side of Blackheath. This is the only helpful site I've come across regarding these lights. I've been trying to get an answer from Skanska for a month now, and have left countless messages with the switchboard in Croydon to no avail. A month ago a yellow cross appeared between our house and next door in front of the narrow party wall between our two narrow driveways. This post effectively stops skips, trucks, anything larger than a mini being parked easily in our driveway - since this is a CPZ and there is huge pressure on the few parking spaces, obviously we need our driveway!

In spite of all my calls and emails, today they put it up. It's just as bad as we thought. There has been NO contact from Skanska, the installers are just a sub-contractor and know nothing. I am at my wits end. The installer rang his supervisor who said he would talk to the design team but that there was little he could do. The installer said the pavement is Council property and they can do what they like...

Am tearing out my hair here. Anyone else had such a foul experience? Anyone know how I can get to talk to this phantom design department?

Hay its nice to see that the new lights are finally being installed on Riverview Walk (Which go's from Catford to Lower Sydenham). Alot of the old lights along there have been run down and broken down needed to be replaced for a very long time now. So yeah happy they are finally being replaced with the new ones. Well done skanska.

Just an update to say that - finally - someone very helpful indeed at Skanska took on my problem and the light has now been moved to a much better place. Now that everything is switched on I can say that I like these new lights. They illuminate the pavement and road very well without extending back as far as the house fronts - we have small front gardens which helps, but even so I can see an effort has been made to control the light pollution.

Now all they need to do is remove the old lamps and fill in the very large holes..... But I'll let someone else make that particular fuss. Kudos to Skanska Customer services, though.

@KateElvira Hi, are they doing the Blackheath area now then?

I see they have either decided nothing needs doing, or not yet addressed the issues on some other roads.
Church Rise, now the trees are in full canopy again, is once again thrown into darkness. Maybe they did their review in the winter (wouldnt surprise me)

Either way, as great as the new lights are, they are rubbish when the heads of the columns are in the tree canopies

The tree's need to be cut back by Lewisham Council and not Skanska i think i'm not sure thou. But your right i think they did the markings of where to put the lights in the winter time because a lot of roads in my area (Perry Hill) have the same problem with trees in the summer and where the new lights have been installed lately lol

If you want to raise issues directly with Skanska, this is the email address to use:marc.zahra@skanska.co.uk

Don't expect anything to happen with any great speed - the new light outside our house was installed in February and still isn't working, despite me reporting it several times. It will, apparently, be commissioned sometime in the next week.

Skanska seem to have the most bizarre, if not byzantine, work practices I have ever seen.

We have one now outside our bedroom window and it's like broad daylight at night if we don't pull the blackout blinds down, and even then it intrudes. Couldn't they fit some kind of shield to the lamp that directs the light downwards but stops it flooding backwards towards the houses? I'm all for increased security but they could at least have thought this through.