Acrospire Engineers Bespoke LED Retrofit Solution for Southend High Street

  Posted by: user_amy      27th October 2026

Working alongside Southend-on-Sea City Council, Marlborough Highways and Marwood Electrical, Acrospire engineered a bespoke LED retrofit solution. The project retained the distinctive leaf-shaped appearance of the existing lanterns while reducing energy consumption by more than 40%, improving reliability and simplifying future maintenance.

Southend High Street is one of the city’s busiest public spaces. It attracts residents and visitors throughout the year. Its distinctive leaf-shaped lanterns form part of the town centre’s character, helping to create an attractive and welcoming environment for shoppers and visitors.

As the installation aged, however, maintaining the metal halide lamps became increasingly challenging. Replacement lamps were harder to source as the industry moved away from older discharge technologies. A growing number of lanterns were reaching the end of their service life. Southend-on-Sea City Council wanted a long-term solution—one that improved performance and reduced maintenance without changing the appearance of the streetscape.

Early discussions with Southend-on-Sea City Council made one thing clear: preserving the lanterns’ appearance was just as important as improving their performance. Rather than replacing them with a modern alternative, Acrospire developed a bespoke LED retrofit solution designed specifically around the client’s requirements.

Ranjit Reehal, Area Sales Manager at Acrospire, explained:

“When we met with the team at Southend, it quickly became clear that replacing the lanterns wasn’t what they wanted. The priority was preserving the distinctive look of the High Street while solving the maintenance issues created by ageing technology. Once we understood that brief, we knew we could engineer a bespoke solution that delivered both. That’s one of Acrospire’s strengths—listening first, then developing a solution around what the customer is actually trying to achieve.”

The new design incorporates a sealed optical system, LED gear tray and bowl. From every angle, the lanterns maintain their familiar appearance while delivering the performance and reliability expected from a modern LED installation.

At 4000K, the upgraded lanterns provide a crisp, neutral white light. Energy consumption has dropped by more than 40%. The new solution also removes the ongoing maintenance challenges associated with ageing discharge lamps, providing a reliable lighting system designed for many years of service.

The project has been delivered collaboratively between Southend-on-Sea City Council, Marlborough Highways, Marwood Electrical and Acrospire. Marlborough Highways removed the lanterns in carefully planned phases. Marwood coordinated their delivery to Acrospire for refurbishment and subsequent return for reinstallation. Working in batches helped minimise disruption while allowing the upgrade to progress efficiently across the High Street and surrounding locations.

The completed scheme preserves the familiar character of Southend High Street while bringing the lighting installation up to modern standards. Existing lanterns have been given a new lease of life. Waste has been reduced. Complete replacement has been avoided.

The move to LED delivers lower energy consumption, improved reliability and simplified maintenance. It helps Southend-on-Sea City Council future-proof one of its most recognisable lighting installations—while retaining the distinctive appearance that contributes to the town centre’s identity.

Shane Ward, Supervisor at Marlborough Highways, comments:

“The phased approach allowed the project to be delivered with minimal disruption while maintaining progress across the programme. Working closely with Southend-on-Sea City Council, Marwood Electrical and Acrospire ensured the retrofit process ran smoothly and delivered a high-quality result that preserved the character of the existing installation.”

Paul Godward, Street Lighting Manager at Southend-on-Sea Council, adds:

“Retaining the existing lanterns was an important part of the brief. They are a distinctive feature of Southend High Street. We wanted to preserve their appearance while improving performance and reducing future maintenance. Acrospire’s bespoke retrofit solution enabled us to achieve exactly that.”

For more information on Acrospire’s retrofit services please visit: https://acrospire.co/solutions/retrofit-streetlighting/