Oxfordshire County Council Advances LED Lighting Upgrade with Acrospire Heritage Programme

  Posted by: user_amy      22nd September 2026

Acrospire is supporting Oxfordshire County Council’s ongoing heritage lighting replacement programme, supplying LED lanterns designed to preserve the character of historic streets and landscapes while improving energy efficiency and long-term performance.

Across Oxfordshire, heritage lighting plays an important role in shaping the character of streets, parks and residential areas. From the tree-lined avenues of North Oxford to rural villages and protected landscapes, these lanterns contribute to how places feel and look after dark while supporting safety and accessibility.

Oxfordshire has approximately 2,358 heritage lighting assets across the county. At the same time, around a quarter of Oxfordshire falls within nationally protected landscapes, including the Cotswolds National Landscape, Chilterns National Landscape and North Wessex Downs, where preserving local character, tranquillity and dark skies is an important consideration.

As part of its maintenance strategy, Oxfordshire County Council is progressively replacing ageing heritage lanterns with LED alternatives. The aim is not simply to improve efficiency, but to retain the appearance and character of the existing installations while extending the life of heritage columns and supporting the Council’s wider sustainability goals.

“Our strategy is to maintain the existing lighting levels that are equivalent to the original lighting classes; for instance, M3, M4 for traffic routes, and anything from a P2 to a P4 for residential areas, and P5 for remote footpaths. This approach ensures we meet the lighting & safety standards plus preserve the aesthetics while making progress toward sustainability,” explains Anthony Palman-Brown, Team Leader – Electrical at Oxfordshire County Council.

Acrospire supplied a range of heritage luminaires as part of the programme, including over 700 Durham lanterns with frosted bowls and 350 Muirfield lanterns, with additional installations planned for a further 350 Muirfields and 111 Streetcare lanterns.

The products were selected both for their lighting performance and for their ability to match the aesthetics of the original heritage lanterns.

The Durham lanterns were specified with frosted bowls recreate the classic mid-century design the area is known for, helping the new installations blend comfortably within sensitive heritage and residential environments.

All lanterns were specified at 2700K colour temperature, supporting a warmer, more natural appearance suited to historic streets and protected landscapes. The lanterns also support part-night dimming, allowing Oxfordshire County Council to operate lighting more efficiently while maintaining appropriate lighting levels for different road classifications and applications.

Installations span a variety of environments, including residential streets, traffic routes and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), where considerations around visual impact and environmental sensitivity are particularly important.

A key element of the programme has been working with existing heritage columns. Acrospire worked closely with Oxfordshire County Council and its contractor

VolkerHighways to help overcome the practical and engineering challenges associated with the older columns. “We’ve focused on finding solutions such as bespoke brackets and mounting arrangements and different bowl options, ensuring compatibility while recreating an aesthetic befitting of the area, allowing the Council to modernise its lighting stock without losing any character,” explains James Brooker, Area Sales Manager, Acrospire. “Working with existing heritage columns and brackets can present challenges, but retaining and upgrading these assets is often the most practical and sustainable long-term approach.”

“From planning through to installation, collaboration across the project has been key,” says Leigh Burgess, VolkerHighways. “The programme has required a flexible approach due to the variety of heritage infrastructure involved and Acrospire has worked closely with the team to help keep installations progressing smoothly.”

The programme supports Oxfordshire County Council’s wider ambition to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions while preserving the distinctive appearance of the county’s streets and public spaces.

For further information on Acrospire’s heritage range please visit: https://acrospire.co/ranges/heritage/