With the considerable amount of investment being made by both the public sector and private sector, section 278 highway improvement schemes are continuing to provide opportunities for MMA lighting consultancy. The vast majority of these highway improvements are for new housing developments but many are also from the commercial sector.
MMA lighting consultants have recently been involved with two high profile schemes from the private sector in the midlands, Jaguar-Landrover site in Castle Bromwich and Rolls Royce site in Derby. These schemes varied in size and scope but have improved the street lighting of these schemes by utilising LED lanterns instead of the existing SON-T lanterns.
Having both schemes within authority’s that have recently had large investment in Street lighting PFI’s as build’s were available. This not only helps with the initial survey on site which is usually completed without prior knowledge of column positions and feed information, but also very helpful for risk assessments during the design process.
The authority development specifications were also readily available which again helps with ensuring the design process isn’t protracted and sets out clear goals and requirements from the local authority. This information is not always easily available but is a must to complete a compliant lighting design.
The road layout drawing for both schemes was amended during the design process, this didn’t affect the lighting design too much, it is always productive to ensure you have the latest layout drawing prior to starting the design and asking the developer to keep you updated with any amendments to the layout of the scheme.
In our view at MMA Lighting consultants Section 278 schemes will continue to be a large source of work for ourselves in the future, we ensure after working on many schemes the work is carried out in a clear timeframe and to the current British standards and development specification.
We also provide a service for working on sites with both section 278 and section 38 new development schemes, this is certainly very useful for developers form both sectors that we are a one shop stop for street lighting expertise and reduces the supply chain.
I look forward to my next scheme which I hope were as enjoyable to work on as the Jaguar-Landrover site in West Bromwich and Rolls Royce site in Derby.
Rob Cooper
MMA lighting Consultants (Midlands Region)